The Strength It Takes
by Andromeda-To-The-Demitria
Summary: Reyna would've been perfectly happy if she hadn't of been forced to go on a double date with Leo Valdez, which ultimately resulted in the death of two friends. She never wanted to see him again. But Reyna's a firefighter, and when a call comes for a fire on Bunker 9 Street, Reyna learns that there is more to Leo's past than she could've ever guessed...And Leo doesn't even know.
1. Nightmares

"Leo, run!" Leo's mother called out to him through the flames. The burning workshop was shifting as the fire consumed more and more. Nobody had even come to help them, they hadn't been able to call. Now, Leo's mother was trapped under a work bench and separated from him by a wall of flames.

Leo stood there, frozen. Which was ironic because of the rising flames around them. Even at eleven years old, he knew he couldn't leave his mom behind. "I can't, Mom! I need you!"

She struggled as she tried to push the table off of her, but it wouldn't budge. "Listen to me, _hijo_. Run and leave me, or they'll get you too. I won't let you die!"

Leo felt the tears rise in his eyes as he realized what he had to do. He didn't know what she meant by _they_, but he knew that he had to obey his mother's orders. Lately, it seemed like a lot of people would walk by and stare at his mother creepily, like they wanted something. "I don't want to let you die either!"

"Run! That's my last wish for you, run! Please, Leo!"

With stinging eyes, Leo turned and ran for the exit that the fire had not yet reached. He didn't understand why the fire had started, it had just come from nowhere. The same way that the table suddenly gave out and collapsed onto his mother.

Leo didn't look back as he ran into the trees behind the workshop. He didn't want to hear his mother's final scream as she was finally consumed by the flames.

But he did.

* * *

_Ding-Dong…Ding-Dong…Ding-Dong_

"Alright, Piper! I'm coming! Chill!" Leo yelled across his house to the door. He seriously needed to change that tone next time he was bored.

He looked over to the clock on his bedside table. Four o'clock already? Leo usually never slept that late on his afternoon naps! But he had been being tormented by a lot of nightmares lately. Mainly just the one of his mother dying…

_Stop it, Valdez_, he chided himself, _live in the present, not the past_. He'd made it this far, and now was not the time to start acting like a baby.

Leo threw on a random shirt laying on the floor and a pair of shorts. Presentable enough. Yeah, probably not, but at least it was something. He _could_ go out there with just his boxers on. Piper would probably have a heart attack, just like she did that one time when she walked into his house when Leo had decided to sleep on the couch naked. It's best not to ask exactly _why _he was sleeping on the couch naked. But hey, Piper should know better not to just walk into someone's house.

_Especially_ his house. Piper had been Leo's best friend since he had moved to Thebes when he was nineteen. So they'd been best friends for roughly six years. But that was a record for Leo! Normally by now, he would've run away and found somewhere else to live for a while. Piper however, had helped him to understand that always running away from problems doesn't help them.

Besides, Thebes was a really nice town. It had a private street for workshops and construction businesses, Bunker 9. There wasn't very many criminals and the bacon sold at the local grocery store was absolutely delicious. The neighbors were even relatively friendly.

He heard the door open and shut again. Piper had probably gotten tired of waiting outside politely and used the spare key to get in. Leo walked out of his room, which was connected straight to the living room.

Piper was standing in the living room with a disgusted look on her face. She was dressed in a dark blue, flowy but short dress, and her hair was neatly done up. "Leo, look at this place! It's a disaster!"

"My workshop is clean, if that makes any difference," Leo protested, looking around the trash on the floor and food on the table. It was a mess, but Leo didn't feel like cleaning once he came home from the workshop everyday.

Piper crossed her arms. "Why aren't you dressed up?" she asked exasperatedly.

"Why are you dressed up, Beauty Queen?" Leo asked, throwing a candy wrapper into the empty garbage can.

"Leo! I reminded you about fifteen times just yesterday! I'm taking you to meet Jason!"

That rung a few dusty bells in Leo's head. He did remember Piper mentioning something about it a few times…maybe he should've listened a little better. But it was hard when his love life sucked so bad and he had to listen to Piper go on and _on_ about how great Jason was and how she couldn't get wait to get married and how handsome and…the list went on forever.

"Ohhh, that does sound a little familiar. Are you sure I can't just wear this?" Leo asked, adjusting his shorts so that they weren't halfway to the side.

Piper sighed. "_No_, Leo! Go put some jeans on or something! I don't want Jason to think I my best friend is a lunatic who doesn't know how to dress himself!" she said, pushing him into his room again.

Leo peeked his head out the door. "Me? Crazy? No way!"

"Get dressed!" Piper urged, shutting the door on him.

Now Leo was faced with the epic battle of trying to find a pair of jeans in this tornado-cane. Yes, it was a combination of a tornado and a hurricane. Most of the time, Leo was lucky to find his bed. Taking a breath in case he drowned in clothes, Leo dove into the mess, madly flinging clothes around and searching for a pair of jeans. He knew he had at least two pairs in here somewhere…just where was the problem.

"Here, jeanie jeanie. Here, jeanie jeanie! Hey, there's that one-eighth wrench I was looking for!" Leo said, throwing the wrench on his bed to lose again.

Leo saw a piece of denim sticking up from a nearby pile by the closet. "Aha!" he yelled pulling it out. Instead, it was a very badly oil stained jean jacket that he had forgotten about probably a year ago. "Oops. That's kinda gross. The search continues!" he said in a majestic voice.

"Do you need help?" Piper called from outside the door.

Leo looked up from his new pile of clothes. "That's probably not a very good idea unless you want to look like me, which isn't a bad thing. I mean, I'm smoking hot!"

"Yeah, on second thought, never mind."

He looked out across the sea of clothes, trying to remember the last time he actually wore a pair of nice jeans that weren't oil stained and ripped up. God, he was so funny that he even made himself laugh sometimes.

Suddenly, his eye caught something from the corner. Could that be…Leo swam over to the fabric and lifted it up victoriously like a trophy. "I, Leo Valdez the Great, have defeated the tornado-cane with my bare hands!" he announced loudly.

"Lovely. Now put them on or we're going to be late!"

* * *

"Jason, why can't I just meet her at the wedding?" Reyna protested, braiding her hair tightly in the mirror.

Jason looked up from his phone at the bed. "You'll be fine, Reyna. Piper's bringing someone too. You won't be alone!" he reassured.

Reyna rolled her eyes and applied a few swipes of mascara before turning away from the mirror to face the rest of the room. Cleanly and neatly arranged, it looked like it belonged in a high class hotel, not a small apartment on the side of Main Street. Her bed was nicely made, the floor recently vacuumed, and everything in its correct spot. Reyna liked it like that, she _was _a bit of a neat-freak.

She opened the closet door and stared at the inside contents, debating on what to wear. Reyna wasn't stupid. She knew what the main goal of this night was. Jason was trying to hook Reyna up so that she didn't feel so left out. Well _sor-ry_, Jason. Reyna had no plans of getting with this Piper's so-called idiot friend.

Which is why Reyna had plans of her own. _Her_ goal was to look so high class that she looked totally and completely out of this guy's league. Then he would realize it was pointless to chase after her and leave forever. The end.

Besides, she was still nurturing her own heartbreak. A year and a half ago, Jason had gone to Hollywood to take a short vacation, leaving Reyna in Thebes by herself. That time away had made Reyna realize that she really did like Jason a lot. When he came back, she decided that she was going to tell him. Then he had come back and told her that he had met up with a girl named Piper at the airport and they had spent the whole time in Hollywood together. Not how Reyna had pictured his return at all.

Well, what was done is done and there's no going back. Now Jason and Piper were getting married soon, and Reyna was left alone in her own misery. And she would stay in that misery forever if it meant she didn't have to go to this 'secret double-date'.

Jason left as Reyna slipped on an elegant purple dress and straightened herself in the mirror. She looked proper enough, with her dark tight braid and her obsidian eyes, accented by the deep purple dress. This guy would be running before she even got within a hundred feet.

Reyna stepped out of the room to face Jason. "Well, how do I look?"

"Perfect," Jason said, opening her front door for her. Reyna followed and walked down the steps to Jason's black car waiting outside. She sat inside on the leather seats and crossed her arms, refusing to speak to Jason as he started the car and drove towards the diner.

"C'mon, Reyna. Just try to enjoy the night, okay?" Jason pleaded.

Reyna stared out the window. "I can try, but I won't guarantee anything."

"You are so stubborn sometimes." Jason said, pulling into the Strawberry Gardiner, the most popular diner in Thebes. It was decorated to its namesake, covered with strawberry plants in a pleasant and welcoming way. The food was unbelievable here, which was one of the main reasons it was so popular.

Jason got out of the car and looked around the parking lot. "I don't think they're here yet, but we can go to our table and wait."

Reluctantly, Reyna pulled herself out of the car and followed Jason through the doors. Jason walked up to the host and got the table's location and they walked over to a corner booth.

Jason sat down and Reyna tried sitting down next to him before he stopped her. "Oh no you don't. You can sit on the other side with Piper's friend," he told her.

Reyna seriously hated booths.

"This is ridiculous, Jason!" Reyna said, sliding into the far end of the opposite side. Around them, people were chattering happily and watching the T.V. as their drinks and food were brought to them. Reyna wished she could look out the window, but the blinds were closed from the inside of the glass.

"It's not ridiculous, you're just being ridiculous," Jason chided, handing Reyna a menu. "Look, there they are!"

Reyna didn't look. Instead, she propped up the menu and hid her face, determined to not enjoy the night. She heard Jason greeting them, and a feminine voice (hopefully Piper) greeted back. The table between them slightly shifted as the two newcomers sat down, and Reyna felt the cushion on the bench move.

The breakfast section on the menu was suddenly so much more interesting than before.

"Reyna, put the menu down please," Jason asked, tugging on the and making it fall a little.

Deciding to make a good _leave me alone _first impression, Reyna slammed the menu down on the table, causing a few people to look and see what the ruckus was. "It's down," she stated.

The man next to her laughed, and Reyna turned to give him a glare. He had curly black hair and brown playful eyes, and when he laughed he looked a little like an elf on a caffeine high. Though Reyna wasn't sure that he didn't just look like that naturally. He was dressed messily and his hair was a disaster area, like he had run through a windstorm or something. He was still laughing his head off, and Reyna wondered what was wrong with him. That wasn't supposed to be funny!

She'd leave that mystery for later. Reyna looked across the table to Jason's soon to be wife. She had chocolate brown hair with bright kaleidoscopic eyes, her features made her look as if she had a little Native American in her. All in all, this girl was extremely beautiful.

"Alright," Jason started, "Reyna, this is Piper," he said, gesturing to the woman next to him. Piper smiled and waved. "And that is Leo," he said, pointing to the man next to Reyna.

Reyna didn't look over, and was fortunately saved from Jason's lecture by the waitress coming over to take their orders. Each of them rang off their menu choices, and soon the waitress was off on her way again. Piper and Jason mostly talked, but occasionally Leo would pitch in to say something stupid.

As soon as the food came, Piper and Jason stated that they were going to take their food to the outside benches, but Reyna and Leo could stay here if they wanted. Reyna knew that she wasn't going to get away with following them, it was practically an order to stay here with Leo.

So they left, and Reyna turned her sour attitude up a notch. How dare they leave her with this man?

"So, how did you get so beautiful?"

Reyna averted her gaze from her half eaten steak and looked over to Leo, who was lazily leaning on the table. "I don't know, must've taken your share from the looks of it," Reyna replied coolly. Apparently, her plan was not working. She should've picked the other dress.

Leo fake clutched his chest. "That's hurtful, Queenie."

"Queenie?"

"Well, 'cause your name's Reyna and that in Spanish is _reina, _which means-"

"I can speak Spanish, I know what it means!" Reyna snapped, stabbing her leftover steak. Jason was so going to pay for this.

Leo leaned over in interest, almost putting his arm in his potatoes and nearly spilling over his drink. "Cool, I like a girl that can speak my lingo!"

Reyna pushed her plate in front of her and stared at the opposite empty bench. The diner was getting louder as more and more people came in to eat and hang out. Leo started to mess with the polish on the table, peeling it off and throwing it on his plate.

Neither of them were talking, and Reyna admitted that it did make things a little awkward. She thought about maybe trying for a civil conversation when a creepy blonde man with a patch over his eye approached their table, studying Leo warily.

"Do you need something?" Leo asked, and Reyna could tell he was a little creeped out by the sudden stare down.

"No," the man answered quickly, "I was just wondering if I could get the girl's number?"

Reyna narrowed her eyes. That was definitely not what the man had come over here for. This guy had a motive that he wasn't going to share, and Leo was involved in it whether he realized it or not. "The girl," Reyna started.

"Is my girlfriend! So, no number for you, man. Aren't you a bit old anyway?" Leo finished.

Okay, so that wasn't exactly what Reyna was going to say and she was going to get Leo back for saying such a thing, but it _was_ a nice save, she had to admit. The man just grunted and walked away, pulling out his cell phone as he did.

Leo pulled Reyna out of the booth. "Come on, we're leaving. _Now_," he urged.

Reyna decided that was a good idea, threw a hundred dollar bill on the table, and followed Leo through the diner. "Who was that?" she whispered.

"I don't know, but he seemed kinda familiar. Like I've seen him before. I just can't place it, but I have the feeling that we should get out of here as fast as possible." Leo said, pushing the door open and ignoring the worker's protests.

They found Piper and Jason sitting on a bench by a tree gently waving in the wind, laughing and throwing grapes at each other. As soon as they saw Reyna and Leo running towards them however, they stopped and stood up to join them. "What's going on?" Jason asked.

"We should leave," Leo said, recounting the story of the man with the eye patch to them.

When he was finished, Piper looked at the entrance to the diner. "Should we go in and report him? He could've just recognized you and mistaken you for someone else," she suggested.

Leo shook his head. "No, I don't think so. I'm serious, we should leave. I get a feeling of ultra-creepy from this guy."

Piper's eyes softened. "Okay. Do you want to follow us home?"

"Excuse me, but follow 'us'?" Reyna interjected, crossing her arms.

Jason shifted his feet. "Well, Piper and I thought that we could take my car over to her house after dinner…we were going to watch a movie. Leo could take you home and you guys could do whatever, whether that meant being civilized or killing each other."

"I'll take Queenie home!" Leo volunteered in an anxious voice. "Let's just get going!"

They hurried towards the parking lot, trying to look unsuspicious as they separated off towards their cars. Reyna didn't know what Leo drove so she followed him. She was _not_ happy about this whole go home with Leo thing.

Leo led her towards a deep red pickup at the corner of the parking lot. He hit a button on his keys and it unlocked and they jumped inside. Leo started it and put it in reverse to back up. "How do you feel about the color red?" he asked.

"My fire truck is red. I don't have a problem with it. And you're clear," Reyna said absentmindedly, looking out the window as Leo almost ran the stop sign.

Leo hit the gas and they quickly pulled up behind Jason's black car at the next stoplight. "You're a firefighter? That's kind of cool! Do you get to hit all the noisy buttons?"

Reyna rolled her eyes. "The light's green, you don't have to slow down! Aren't we in a hurry to get away from Mr. Creepy?"

"Oh, yeah," Leo responded breathlessly, clutching the steering wheel. "But I can't slow down without letting go of the gas. My breaks aren't working, for some reason!" he said, a hint of panic in his voice.

"And you didn't notice this before we got this far into town?" Reyna snapped, holding onto the glove box.

Leo was breathing hard and muttering under his breath. "I thought it was just me…stay green…stay green!" he yelled at the stoplight.

"Why is Jason stopping?" Reyna screamed at the sight of his break lights while the stop light was still green. The world suddenly started to spin as Reyna realized how dangerous the situation was.

"Reyna! That semi is running a red light, Jason's stopped, and I can't stop!" Leo yelled, the sweat running down his face.

"Stop, Leo! Stop!" Reyna screamed as they slammed into the back of Jason's car, sending them backwards and the black car forward into the semi.

Reyna felt her head hit the window, and suddenly dots started to fill her vision. The pickup was still moving, or at least it felt like it. Hands enveloped Reyna's face and she realized that she was bleeding.

"Stay here, Queenie! I don't know you, but I'm sorry! Stay awake! I'm so sorry!" a faded voice was saying, but Reyna couldn't respond.

She didn't have the strength to.

* * *

**Wow, that was the longest chapter I have ever written! But it had to prologue in it, so that majorly added. Anyways, there is the beginning of the Leyna story, as promised!**

**Thank you for any future reviews, follows, and favorites!**


	2. Dealing With The Pain

Life goes on.

Whether Reyna's ready to move on or not, time moves. At different intervals depending on her mood, sometimes slowly, sometimes fast, but everything keeps going.

Jason. Her best friend, who was always there for her, who had a bright new future with his wife…Reyna didn't want to see him go, but it was awful to watch him just be…there…on life support. He wasn't dead, but he hadn't been alive either. Just in that middle stage. It had taken every ounce of strength from Reyna to see the doctors take away the life support.

Sometimes, Reyna imagined what he and Piper had been talking about, what their final words to each other had been, before they both left this world. Maybe they were talking about their future together, or even laughing about leaving Reyna with Leo. Whatever it was, it didn't change anything. Piper had still died on impact, and Jason…

Reyna didn't want to think about the wreck and all the consequences of it, but it was hard not to when almost everything reminded her of Jason. Reyna didn't even want to find out why the brakes weren't working in Leo's pickup. Sure, she was curious, but it wasn't worth going to visit _him_.

It wasn't fair of Reyna to do that, blame Leo for the death of Jason, but who else was there to blame? She didn't know who to blame, and putting the blame on Leo Valdez just made everything a little easier. Sometimes. Others, it just added more guilt.

Reyna turned over in her bed and looked at the clock. 5:45, fifteen minutes until her alarm went off. Deciding that getting up early was better than being absorbed in her useless thoughts, Reyna pushed herself out of her bed and got ready for work.

Once Reyna had pulled on a pair of jeans and a plain shirt, she opened her bedroom door to greet her two dogs, Aurum and Argentum, who were wildly barking and whimpering for Reyna to let them out.

"Come on, you two!" she called, walking to her back door and opening it as they flew past and into the backyard. Reyna filled their bowls up with food and checked their water, then closed the door.

With her extra time she had before work, Reyna made chocolate chip muffins for breakfast and finished doing her hair and makeup while they were in the oven.

Reyna looked at herself in her mirror, and though she was wearing jeans and a t-shirt, her mind suddenly flashed back to the night when she wore the purple dress. The purple dress that was now bloodstained and hidden in the back of Reyna's wardrobe.

"Knock it off, Reyna!" she snapped at herself suddenly to avoid her thoughts from delving further into the forgotten eventful night, "Your muffins should be nearly done anyhow," she reminded herself.

Sighing, Reyna closed the bedroom door and made her way into the kitchen, her eye on the timer on the oven. She had come in at almost the perfect timing, and she watched as the timer made its way down to zero.

_BEEP, BEEP, BEEP_!

Reyna quickly hit the stop button and pulled the pan out of the oven with an oven mitt. She breathed in the sweet aura that the muffins gave off, ecstatic to eat them for breakfast.

She searched the oak cupboards and drawers for a knife and plate, and promptly took two muffins straight from the pan. Reyna held up the perfectly molded muffin in her hand, and gave a toast that had almost become a ritual for every meal since the horrid wreck.

"Here's to never seeing Leo Valdez again!" Reyna said to her imaginary audience, taking a large bite.

Heat filled her mouth, and Reyna realized that the muffin was still extremely hot from the oven. She fanned her mouth out, cursing all the while. "Holy mother of Leo, that's hot!" she exclaimed, "Son of a Valdez!"

Using Leo's name as a curse word had also become a ritual.

Okay, so maybe when the doctors had _strongly_ recommended seeing a counselor or therapist after the wreck Reyna should have. But she was just fine, she could handle any problems on her own. That's what emotional walls were for. So what if she had a few holes in those walls that caused her to create a few rituals like they were part of a religion? Reyna wasn't crazy.

Reyna lightly laid her steaming muffin back on her plate. She leaned on the counter and looked at her reflection in the microwave's door. "I, Reyna Santiago-Rivera, am in perfect condition and do not have problems," she said firmly out loud.

Great. Now she was talking to herself.

Sighing again, Reyna looked at the oven clock and read 7: 18. Right on an early schedule, like usual. Not like she really had a set schedule, being a firefighter. She had to be up and ready to work at any time of day or night, no matter what. Most of the other firefighters just lived in the upper part of the hall, but the rest had apartments in the same building where Reyna lived, which was next door to the fire department.

Reyna loved her job. She really did.

"Hey, Reyna! It's almost seven-thirty and you're not at work yet!" a deep mocking voice came in through her radio.

Reyna almost cracked a smile. Almost. But now that Jason was gone, there was no reason to smile. She couldn't even remember the last time she did, not like she did a lot before Jason died anyway.

Detaching the radio from her jean pocket, Reyna spoke back into it. "Very funny, Jackson. What are _you_ doing there so early?"

"He's not. Your office light is off," Another voice interrupted, which Reyna recognized as Travis Stoll's.

"Oh, shut up!" Reyna muttered, wrapping up her muffins and picking up her purse.

Ignoring the rest of the usual morning chit chatter over the radio (Which they weren't supposed to do, but everyone ignored Reyna's requests to stop), Reyna locked up her house and headed outside.

She looked around to the town as she stepped onto the cracked sidewalk. It was in a transition of seasons from summer to autumn, and the cool morning breeze proved correct for once. A few cars were bustling about and the stoplights were blinking lonely. Shopkeepers were opening up their stores and sweeping the front.

Reyna sighed peacefully and walked next door to the fire hall. The door was locked, so she had to pull out her keys and open it. Inside, cement floors and walls were covered in equipment, and the lights were dimmed down low. The radar was dully gleaming on the wall, which was always a good thing because that meant no fire or emergency calls.

Her shoes seemed especially loud today on the cement floor, though she was wearing flats. Now that Reyna was paying attention, everything seemed to be louder than usual. The machines were vibrating the whole room to her.

Reyna's heart began to unwillingly pick up its pace, like it did when she was about to enter a burning house to save someone, or while waiting for a fellow firefighter to get back.

_Stop being so dramatic_, Reyna scolded herself, _There's nothing out of the normal._

The shop door behind her suddenly swung open, and it was all Reyna could do to stop from jumping. She spun around to spot the suspect, and saw a black haired green eyed man with a piece of a fire hose end in his hand.

"Jackson! Was it really necessary to slam that open that hard?" Reyna yelled, walking backwards to the beginning of the staircase.

Her yelling had no effect on Percy Jackson. He just smiled and held up the metal piece. "Sure was! Why, was the great Reyna Rivera scared?" he teased.

"You wish," Reyna replied, quickly climbing the metal stairs, her shoes still sounding oddly loud.

Percy just laughed, and Reyna repressed a smile. There was a time when her heart would've swooned at Percy, she remembered. When she had starting working here she developed a crush on him. It was a bad move on her part, because Percy swiftly made it clear that he in fact had a girlfriend.

He was married to Annabeth now, and Reyna's stupid short crush had long since faded. But that was alright, she was perfectly happy being single. Reyna's heart had already suffered enough, so why take more chances to ruin it again?

Reyna approached the second floor, which consisted of a few office rooms and the utility rooms, like the break room, the wash room, and a couple of bathrooms. The walls were a light blue, and the carpet a dark blue. She never really understood why they chose the color blue, but she guessed that it was to take away from all the red equipment downstairs.

There were signs covering the walls, differing in messages. Most were motivational, which were much needed on bad days. The others were mostly reminders and important messages, which were overall ignored by most of the staff unless Reyna had a copy up in her office.

Her office was the second door on the left, boldly labeled with a gold nameplate. She unlocked the door and entered her office, which was just as neat and orderly as her apartment. All of the guides and manuals were nicely organized on a bookshelf by her desk, and the chairs were aligned in front. The carpet was cleanly vacuumed, and not a splice of paper lay on the floor.

Reyna collapsed into her spinning chair, and clocked in on her computer. Percy sat in the chair across her desk, and laid the metal piece on her desk. "What's wrong with that?" Reyna questioned, picking it up and examining it.

"It's the adapter-"

"I know what it is!" Reyna interrupted irritably.

Percy held up his hand. "Chill, Reyna. I was getting there," he calmly responded, "Anyway, look at the inside. See where it's chipped? In order for it to properly 'adapt', it can't be like that," Percy explained.

Reyna ran a hand through her hair and sighed. "And we don't have any others in stock? This is a fairly important piece of equipment, surely we have more."

"Well yeah, we have more. Two anyway. But we're going to need more if this keeps happening. It can't be that big of deal, Reyna."

She looked back to her computer screen and pulled up the order form. She clicked on a few things and wrote a few things down. Then she turned back to Percy. "There. It's ordered," she said shortly.

"Somebody needs a cup of coffee," Percy grumbled, picking up the piece and leaving the office, shutting the door as he went.

Reyna let out a deep breath and leaned back in her chair, looking longingly out the window. Sometimes it was so stressful to be here. Granted, Reyna understood that all the money came from the government taxes, but that didn't mean that they limited the money they gave to the fire department. In order to follow all the correct safety procedures, they had to have working equipment. To get that working equipment meant to spend money. And the government sometimes made that seem like such a big deal.

It was irritating, really.

Reyna looked at the clock on her computer. 7:52. Maybe Percy was right, she needed a cup of coffee.

Forcing herself up from the suddenly comfortable chair, she left the office and went across the hall to the break room. More people were up and working now from the sound coming from downstairs and the chattering she heard as she opened the door.

The room went silent as Reyna entered. Reyna looked them over and walked over to the coffee machine, picking up her cup from the sink as she did. She felt the quiet looks being passed behind her back as she poured the pitcher.

Reyna turned around and faced her fellow employees. The looked away like they hadn't been doing anything and attempted to look busy. Reyna took a sip of her coffee and held it warmly between her hands.

"Don't you all have morning check-ups to be doing?" Reyna asked sternly, eying each one of them individually.

The mood of the room shifted, and everyone began to get up from their seats and exit the room. Reyna reached out and caught one of the Stoll brothers by his sleeve, which turned out to be Connor.

"Hey, check inventory for me, just so that I know we have all the right amount of equipment," Reyna instructed.

His brother, Travis had stayed back at Connor's absence. "Cool!" he exclaimed, grabbing the keys from the hook on the door. "And if we happen to be short…we'll just sneak over to the next county and 'borrow' a few pieces of equipment, okay?"

"Nice try, Stoll," Reyna said. "But you will not leave this building unless we have a call, got it?"

Connor nodded and leaned over to his brother's ear. "So I guess those candy bars from that new store across the street is off," he muttered.

Reyna rolled her eyes and left the room. "Just make sure it gets done!" she called, strutting back into her office and slamming the door.

The rest of the day passed by slowly, like usual. Paperwork, helpless people, complaining, more paperwork, and more bad news. There wasn't even a call all day. Not like that was a bad thing or anything, it just made the day a whole lot less interesting.

The next time Reyna looked at the clock, it was nearing ten o'clock at night. The rest of the workers were gone and home already, but were still on call if there was an emergency. Reyna just had to put in the closing reports and she was free to go.

So she did that, dumped her coffee in the break room sink, and left down the stairs. Her shoes didn't seem as loud this time, which was good. Downstairs seemed less intimidating, and the lights were dimly lit for the emergency calls. Everything was prepared and ready.

Taking one last check over the room, Reyna reached for the doorknob, ready to go home at last.

At least until the bells started to go off.

* * *

**So, I know nothing about firefighting as a job, so I'm kinda winging it. Any information would be immensely appreciated! **

**Thank you so much for all the feedback on the first chapter! You are amazing, just want you to know that. **


	3. All Fired Up

"I GOT A POCKET, GOT A POCKETFULL OF SUNSHINE!" Leo sang along terribly with the radio perched up on the shelf next to him. It was blaring already, but Leo felt the need to add to the noise.

He was at his workshop, just chilling and finishing all the random projects he had started over the years, not really doing anything productive. 'Course, that's just how Leo rolled most of the time, just doing things for something to do. Occasionally someone would call in and ask Leo to fix a problem at their home, which was just fine because it paid a lot of money, but this was what Leo did for a living.

Leo was currently finishing a project he'd started only yesterday, which was fixing the vacuum to his house. For some reason, the hose refused to have any suction at all. Not like he intentionally planned to use it or anything unless Piper-

Oh, that's right. Piper wasn't there to yell at him about his unclean house anymore. Or tell him to change his clothes. Or go for ice cream on a hot summer afternoon. Or anything. No more talks about life. Hell, Leo'd even love to hear Piper go on forever about how amazing Jason was.

But no, he wouldn't ever again. And it was all Leo's fault. It was his stupid pickup. Leo was a mechanic for god's sake! He should have known how to react to a dysfunctional brake. Leo should have pulled over, or something. _Anything_ to stop what had caused Piper and Jason's deaths.

The case itself had been a little suspicious, like Leo had suspected. He had had a bad feeling about that creepy guy with the eye patch at the restaurant, like he wanted something from Leo.

And then, after the whole deal had been done, investigators had been unable to find the driver of the semi truck who ran the red light. The real man who was supposed to be driving that particular truck was found knocked out at the truck stop on the end of town, meaning the truck had been deliberately stolen.

Coincidence that Leo had a dysfunctional brake going towards the same stoplight as the stolen semi truck? He thought not.

Of course, now Reyna hated him and never wanted to catch sight of him again. It was only natural. She had made that pretty obvious at the funerals in her speech by using 'indirect' comments about him. That, and the constant accusing glares he had received during their last times together.

"Reyna Santiago-Rivera," Leo said out loud without meaning to. Her name rolled off his tongue in the beautiful way Spanish words did, like her name was meant to be said by him.

Reyna was the definition of love at first sight and totally and completely out of Leo's league all in one gorgeous package. Plus she was a smoking hot (No pun intended…Wait, yeah, pun intended.) firefighter! Which just added a whole rack more of attractive traits to Reyna, like courage, bravery, and heroism. She'd probably saved so many lives…

While Leo, on the other hand, had left his mother to die and killed Jason and Piper with his pickup. Things were _so_ totally going to work out between him and Reyna. Not.

But Leo could dream, right? He wasn't a stalker or anything, but the candy shop across the street from the firehouse had become Leo's favorite in the entire city of Thebes. He'd found that from a certain booth, Leo could see Reyna in her office.

She paced a lot. And when she was bored, she tore out her braid, ran a hand through it, and put it back together before someone came into her office. When Reyna was frustrated, she'd put her head in her hands and lay her head on the desk. Occasionally, she 'd walk up to the window and just stare out into the rest of the city, dazed off in her own personal world.

Leo wondered what Reyna thought about. He couldn't understand her mind and the way it operated, and it frustrated him. He just wanted to open up her mind and watch how all the gears turned, fully comprehending how she worked and why. But Reyna was a human, with blood and all that other human-y stuff that was completely unfathomable to Leo. It was so unfair.

Seriously, Leo promised he wasn't an obsessive stalker fan girl(or guy?) over Reyna. He just thought about hot girls a lot, yeah, that was it.

But didn't Reyna Valdez sound like such an elegant name? it would fit her queenly personality perfectly, like she was the Queen of Spain or something. Leo wondered if he could make a crown for her…

"Vacuum, Leo! Work on the stupid vacuum!" he yelled out, trying to divert his thoughts.

It didn't work, so Leo decided to lay the vacuum to the side for now and work on cleaning his shop up, since he hadn't done that for a while.

Leo placed the assorted pieces of nuts and bolts in one of the many unorganized but organized buckets lying around. He threw the extra sheets of metal in the bin or put them back on the rack. He then placed his projects on the shelves according to order or importance to Leo. Finally, Leo swept the floor until it was as clean as a hospital floor. Okay, maybe not that much, but it _was _clean.

Leo walked over to the closet to put away his shop broom. He opened the door, and discovered that it too needed organizing. After that was done, Leo closed the door.

Then, over by the garage door, something moved in the shadows.

Leo's heart stopped. He wasn't crazy about ghosts or anything, and believed he saw them all the time, but that was definitely out of the ordinary. Nobody was supposed to be in Leo's workshop. Nobody was supposed to be able to get _into_ Leo's workshop. _Especially _at this hour of night.

Bunker 9 Street was full of creepers who thought they could do construction work just for something to get money from. Leo had learned quick and easy that he needed to lock himself in at night or else guys drunk or high would come crawling into his shop thinking that they were somewhere else.

Leo hesitantly took a few steps toward the garage door, each foot feeling like it was full of lead as he lifted it. Even with the radio blasting Spice Girls, the workshop suddenly felt eerily quiet.

He approached the bins near the garage door and carefully looked around them, expecting some psychotic clown with an ax to come after him with a smile. Leo almost sighed in relief as he saw nothing anywhere around the garage door. Must have been a trick of the light.

But that still didn't take away the feeling of being watched as he walked over to turn off his radio and haul ass home. That feeling was almost too familiar lately. Leo just always had the hair on the back of his neck pricking up, even if he was just stalking Reyna at the firehouse.

He turned the knob on the radio and the shop went silent. Too silent. Leo seriously thought about leaving the radio on for the night, 'cause he was really getting creeped out.

"Oh, stop it! You are Leo Valdez the Great! You are getting worked up over nothing," Leo chided himself. He pulled his hand away from the knob and walked away, his senses still going on overdrive.

Then a glistening on the cement floor caught the side of Leo's eye about four benches down. "What the.." he muttered to himself. Leo had definitely not left that while he was cleaning.

He walked over to the bench, the puddle getting deeper and more expansive, like a river that never stopped. The smell of gasoline was filling the air, and Leo's heart began to race again.

Something wasn't right. Leo wasn't alone in this workshop.

Leo decided that it was high time to leave. And he was not taking his new pickup, which was black, not red, home. Just for a safety precaution. Because last time this creepy feeling happened to Leo, his brake lines had been cut.

Yes, they had been cut. Leo had done almost all the refinishing on that pickup himself, and the brakes had worked like new, Leo had made sure of that. Things like that don't just happen. Someone, like that man with the eye patch, seriously had it out for him.

Why? Leo had no idea….Actually, he did have some sort of an idea. He just knew that his mother had been involved in it somehow. Leo wished she was here now, so he could ask her and know why.

He put the key in the door knob. Or tried anyway, because the key wouldn't even go in the hole. Leo leaned down and looked inside, and immediately wished he hadn't.

Glue. The inside was glued. Like someone had purposely done it in order to keep Leo inside the warehouse.

"What the hell is going on?" Leo muttered, checking the other doors as quickly as he could. Same thing, they were all glued shut. Every single exit door.

Looking down, he noticed the gasoline was spreading rapidly, coming from almost no where. Leo didn't keep that much gasoline in his workshop, he didn't need it. Something was seriously going on.

He looked around in desperation, and remembered that he did have one more exit: the garage doors.

Leo took off in a dead run, trying to be careful not to step in the gasoline. Once he was there, Leo started to madly hit the button, only to hear the gears make a groaning sound and refuse to open.

"Oh _come on _you piece of shit!" Leo cursed at it, leaning down and trying to pull the doors up. He hit them and pulled and pushed, but it didn't appear like the door planned to move.

_CLANG!_

Leo froze.

He forced himself to turn and look around the workshop, but the smell of burning gasoline hit his senses first. Then his eyes registered what was going on, and the Gas River was now the Wall of Fire. Where had all this gas come from? Or better yet, the fire source?

"Time to go, time to go!" Leo yelled, beating the door even more fiercely. Nothing budged, and looking around some of his exit doors were blocked by fire.

Flashbacks started to play in his mind. This was how his mother had died. There was no one to save her, no firefighters had ever showed up because of the isolation of the workshop. Back then, there hadn't been an emergency button.

"Emergency button!" Leo screamed, wildly dodging the fire and holding his breath as he walked as calmly as possible to one of the buttons on the walls.

It glowed red almost immediately, showing that his plea had been heard. Leo accidentally let out a breath, and felt the course air hit his lungs as he frantically searched for more.

He was being suffocated by the fire. Leo tried to move, but he could clearly see that he was in the best spot. The fire had not yet reached this wall, which was ironically the one with his mother's picture and obituary pinned up on it. Her picture wasn't the only one though. Piper and Jason were there as well, looking as carefree and happy as they once were, ready to face the world.

At least he wouldn't die alone.

_NEE NAA! NEE NAA! NEE NAA!_

Where those…sirens? It couldn't be. That just wasn't his luck. After all this?Then he heard voices. But were they really there? Leo couldn't tell if he was hallucinating from the lack of oxygen or if he was just going crazy from the situation.

Then he heard a sizzling sound, and banging. They were trying to get in. A few bare seconds of that, and then Leo heard a crash.

"IS ANYONE HERE? CALL OUT!" a woman's demanding voice said. Almost familiar, but Leo could barely think at the moment.

He tried to pull himself up, but failed. "HERE! I'M OVER HERE, BY THE WALL!" he called out in response, but he was afraid it sounded weak. Leo wasn't even sure that the voice had heard him.

Someone emerged from the flames like an angel. They delicately picked them up in their arms and trudged him through the flames. Leo tried to look into the person's face, but he could barely keep his eyes open because they were so dry.

"I'm almost out, near the door," the woman's voice said into her radio.

A response came, but Leo didn't pay attention as he was exposed to the cold night air. It was liquid (or gas) heaven, and it felt _so _wonderful. He tried to roll out of the woman's arms and embrace the world like a rock star, but she refused to let him move.

He felt himself being laid down on a stretcher, and Leo finally opened his eyes and stretched as the doctors went into action.

And he almost had a heart attack as the firefighter took off her protective mask and helmet.

"Reyna!?" Leo yelped.

Her eyes widened, then filled with anger. Reyna threw her hat violently onto the ground. "Son of a Valdez! I should've looked before I saved your god damn life! I should have let your soul burn!" she yelled out so loud that her fellow firefighters looked over.

"Reyna! How do you spell 'fired up'?" Leo asked, a smile on his face and his heart almost filled with joy. He just got saved by a hot chick who was a firefighter. Definitely something that did not happen everyday. Never mind why he got saved in the first place.

"Perfect! This is just so fucking _perfect_!" Reyna continued on ranting.

"Okay, don't answer my question then. But the answer is 'F U'! Get it?" Leo giggled, the antiseptics getting into his veins.

Reyna glared at him and looked back to the smoking workhouse behind her that everyone else had almost stopped from burning. Then she looked over to a firefighter next to her. "Go get me a glass of water!"

Then, she collapsed.

* * *

**Oh my, it took me literally forever to get this chapter done! But it is here now! And I'm out of school this Friday for summer vacation and I can write more! **

**Thank you for all you support with follows, favorites, and reviews! You are the reason I update!**


	4. Cheesecake and Jellybeans

"He's doing perfectly well, we would like to release him by tonight. Would you like to speak with him for a moment? He's been asking for you for the last hour," the brunette nurse asked Reyna.

Reyna scowled in distaste. She would much rather be at home than at this stupid hospital, but it was her 'duty' as Percy had put it, to make sure Leo was okay. So maybe Leo had no one left in his life to confide in and depend on. But that didn't make it automatically Reyna's responsibility just because she went on one _forced _date with him and survived two near death experiences!

She regretted sharing that horrible incident with Percy, because now all he was going to do was hold it against her. Stupid coworkers.

Oh, Reyna would give her proper revenge to Mr. Jackson. After all, revenge was a dish best served cold. Or maybe not served cold at all. Because, incidentally, or course, Reyna would 'forget' to put the blue ice cream for the break room on the order form. Forget, being the key word there.

The nurse was still staring at Reyna, waiting for her answer. Reyna snapped out of her vengeful thoughts. "I suppose I'm obligated too," she answered, sighing as she pushed herself out of the red hospital waiting room seat.

The nurse smiled as if Reyna had made it seem like seeing Leo was the best thing in the world. "Okay! Just call me if you should need help!" she brightly said, opening the hallway door for Reyna to walk into.

"No, I can kill somebody just fine by myself, no help needed," Reyna mumbled lowly, but the nurse didn't hear her. Probably a good thing, as it wouldn't look too nice on Reyna's record as a firefighter having a death threat directed towards one of her save-ees.

The hallways were dimly lit, with little noise around. It was a little annoying, really. To Reyna anyway, who was always in a firehouse full of noise and racket coming from all her coworkers. It was almost nerve-racking, the silence.

As Reyna approached room N209, she hesitated as her hand touched the doorknob. Leo was singing to himself loudly, and Reyna realized that she would be not only dealing with the normal Leo, but a pain medication high Leo. _Just perfect_.

She highly considered turning around and leaving the hospital. Reyna didn't know how to deal with people like Leo. She knew how to deal with fires, burning buildings, and all that stuff. Not flesh and bones that weren't severely hurt, that actually worked and thought out things still.

Well, Reyna wasn't sure that Leo had ever thought anything out.

"Stop being such a baby, Reyna. Just treat him like a walking, breathing, ball of fire. Yes, that's it," Reyna said to herself under her breath. Then, she did the unspeakable.

Reyna opened the door.

First of all, Leo was eating cheesecake by the pound. Second of all, he was in a hospital gown, which had been one of the factors of why Reyna should not visit that she hadn't assessed. If she would have, Reyna would definitely not be present.

"Oh, Valdez! Put some clothes on, will you?" Reyna exclaimed, covering her eyes and stumbling towards the second floor window.

She heard him shift in his bed, but she wasn't sure that he was exactly covering up. For all she knew, Leo was now naked. For that reason, Reyna kept her eyes glued to the parking lot down two stories and tried not to focus on the reflection too much.

"My queen, you seem to be confused. Because last Friday night, all you wanted was for my clothes to be off," Leo said in an ordinary voice, like nothing had happened.

"I don't know what you are talking about. Last Friday I was busy ordering jelly beans over the internet," Reyna calmly responded. Down below, a family was walking an elderly man to the car. Suddenly, that became very interesting to Reyna.

Leo laughed. "That's what they all say! But they can't shake the love of Leo Valdez!" he loudly proclaimed. "What were you doing buying jelly beans? Easter isn't for another month," he added.

"I happen to like jelly beans," Reyna sharply responded. The man got in the passenger seat and buckled himself in, down at the parking lot.

"Is that so, Rey-na?" Leo said, copying Reyna's tone.

Reyna couldn't stand it anymore, so she took the chance that maybe Leo had _some_ sense and turned around.

He did, thank god. He had at least some decency and respect for Reyna's eyes sight, apparently, as Leo had pulled the stiff white hospital blanket over his revealing nightgown. A plate of cheesecake was still leftover on his side table, and he was hooked to an IV. A few bandages and gauze wraps covered his arms, but not too many.

She decided to at least try to be diplomatic. "How are you? You know, with the burns and… everything," Reyna asked, slowly walking over to his bed.

Leo nodded his head, as if he understood that Reyna didn't want to know about the fire last night, she wanted to know how he'd been dealing with the death of their friends.

He picked at the thread in the sheets and didn't meet Reyna's eyes, which she didn't like. "It's been okay, I guess you could say. I'm still here, if that's what you're getting at," he said in a low voice.

"Nothing has been okay. You don't have to lie to me," Reyna sternly objected. She could tell just from Leo's sudden personality change that he was hiding a lot. Not unlike herself, but probably in a different manner.

Leo's smile dropped a little, and his eyes slightly darkened. He tried to look anywhere but at Reyna, but she was sure to stay in his line of sight. "Okay. You got me, Queenie."

Reyna contemplated sitting down on his bed or even the chair next to it, but she decided to stay standing for just a moment more. "Cough it up, then," she demanded.

"Look at this fabulously stunning cheesecake! How perfectly structured, and such creaminess! Who makes this-"

"Leo," Reyna sternly reminded, sitting in the chair to show that she wasn't leaving anytime soon. At least until he told her what he was hiding.

Leo glanced at the shut door, then looked Reyna in the eye in a secretive way. "I wasn't alone last night, if that's what you want to know," he said in a quiet voice.

"Did you bring someone with you that caused the fire? I don't understand what you mean by 'I wasn't alone'," Reyna quickly questioned. What he was saying was not making sense at all.

He squeezed his eyes shut, as if trying to remember something. "No, someone got into my shop without me knowing. I lock my doors at night to keep the creeps out, but somehow someone got in. I saw a shadow, and I heard a bang too. Nothing like that has ever happened before," Leo said in a fast paced voice.

Reyna listened intently. "Anything else that might have lead to the fire? Do you think they were out for you?"

"There was gasoline on the floor," Leo added. "And I know I didn't do that because I had spent the previous hours cleaning up my shop like an OCD-"

"Hey, don't poke fun of OCD people," Reyna interrupted.

Leo raised an eyebrow. "What? Are you OCD or something? I'll keep that in mind! Man, I bet you'd freak out at the sight of my apartment, just like Pip-" He stopped in mid-sentence.

Reyna sucked in her breath, trying to keep calm because she didn't know what to do if Leo started to hyperventilate or something. "Okay, well. Anyway, was there anything else odd?" she said, trying to divert Leo's thoughts back to the main course.

He still had a far away look in his eyes, but he answered nonetheless. "J-just the clang and the fire after that."

They sat still for a few moments, letting it all sink in. Leo played nervously with the cheesecake pan, and Reyna chewed on her lip, too lost in thought to even realize it.

The nurse came in to check up on Leo, but apparently sensed the tenseness in the air and soon left.

"You don't think they're related, do you?" Reyna asked, breaking the silence.

Leo shifted in his hospital bed, causing the IV to slightly jiggle. "The wreck and the fire, is that what you mean? I don't know why anyone would be after me." he answered quickly. A little too quickly.

"You're lying to me." Reyna stated, layering the accusation thick in her voice. "You know they're connected. Whether or not you know the reason is a different thing, but let this be known, Leo Valdez; I _will _find out. And I will not become anymore intertwined in your near death experiences than I already have been. I'm done." she icily said, standing up from her chair and making her way to the door, not even looking back to see Leo's expression.

Her hand was on the doorknob when Leo called out to her. "Reyna?"

"What?" Reyna snapped without turning around.

Leo paused, but then continued. "Can you stay for a while? I'm tired of being lonely."

Reyna sighed, not understanding where this pity in her steel heart was coming from. "Yes, I suppose I can do that," she said, her hand slipping from the doorknob.

* * *

Her day with Leo was not as bad as she had thought it would be. Reyna hadn't intended to stay all day until he was dismissed from the hospital, but she had ended up doing just that.

The weird thing about it? Reyna actually had a good time.

They played a few board games, ate cheesecake instead of lunch, and mostly just talked. And it felt good. It was relieving, actually, to talk to someone who could understand what she'd been going through for the past five months. It was like a whole ton of lead had been lifted off her chest, and now Reyna could finally breathe.

That didn't mean, however, that Reyna was completely over her hatred for Leo. It just meant that she herself was healing. Yes, that was it.

As of now, Reyna was putting dishes in the dishwasher, and Leo was in the living room laying on the couch like a pathetic walrus. Reyna seriously didn't know what had gotten into her, letting Leo stay the night at her house. She just had this feeling like she shouldn't let Leo go back to his own home, that he was safer at her house.

Maybe it was the possible connection of the wreck and the fire. And who knew? Maybe there was more to it than Leo was currently sharing with Reyna.

As Reyna put the in the last plate and shut the dishwasher, she realized how much of a genius she was. That was it! If she was nice to him and let him stay at her own apartment, Leo was bound to open up and tell her all his secrets that he was keeping hidden. Manipulation truly was the best weapon.

With that in mind, Reyna picked a bag of jellybeans from her cupboard and walked into her living room.

Leo was spread out on the couch with his head on about four couch pillows. His hand was hanging off the couch and holding the remote while the T.V. played something about the evolution in the structure and function of ships and boats on the History Channel.

"Hey, want some jelly beans?" Reyna asked, sitting next to him on what was left of the couch. It's not like she really had a choice anyway, her living room wasn't big enough to fit another chair in it.

Leo looked over from the television screen. "Sugar? Are you sure you want to give me sugar at this hour of night?"

"Leo, it's only eight," Reyna sighed. "I'm sure you've stayed up way later than this before. I'm pretty sure _I_ stopped going to bed at this time by the time I was nine years old."

"Whatever, Queenie. Just give me the jelly beans!" he said, suddenly jumping up and diving his hand into the bag without warning.

Reyna pulled the bag back protectively as he almost spilled his handful all over the couch. "Hey! Don't waste now," she reprimanded, popping a few of the jellybeans in her own mouth.

Suddenly, Leo made a face as he bit down and swallowed. He grabbed the bag and read the label. "Starburst jellybeans? I didn't even know they made such a thing!"

"Well, having the same kind would get boring after a while, wouldn't it?"

Leo shrugged and adjusted the pillows. "You are obsessed and unusual. Like a fan girl with an extra arm or something, but about jellybeans."

"Leo?"

"What?"

"Stop insulting my favorite things, or you're sleeping in the doghouse," Reyna threatened, putting the jelly bean bag on the coffee table and looking over to her dogs, who were waiting patiently at her bedroom doorway for her to go to bed.

Leo picked up the remote. "As long as it's connected to DirecTV, it's all good. There's some pretty cool stuff on tonight!"

"Don't you have satellite T.V. at your own house?" Reyna asked.

He shook his head. "Nah. Got disconnected 'cause I couldn't pay the bill. It's okay though, I lost the remote ages ago anyway and I'm not bored enough to make another one."

They didn't talk for a few minutes, instead watching the bright television screen absorb into their minds. Reyna didn't really understand all what was going on, but she was starting to catch up when a commercial came on.

An awkward silence filled the air, and Reyna didn't attempt to break it. Unfortunately, Leo did.

"So…are all Puerto Rican girls as pretty as you are?"

Reyna sighed at his pathetic conversation starter and stood up from the couch. "Well, I think it is time for me to get ready for bed. And if I catch you in my room while I'm changing, I have a butcher knife in the kitchen drawer with your name engraved on it."

"Are you serious?"

Reyna crossed her arms. "Go ahead and look for yourself if you don't believe me. I did it myself."

Leo's eyes widened and he grabbed the nearest blanket and held it up like a matador. "Jeez, lady! Therapy can help!"

She just rolled her eyes and walked into her cold room and shut the door with her dogs inside. Reyna decided to take a shower in the morning, and just settled for pajamas and cleaning her face off. She pulled her braid out of her hair and pulled her bed sheets back.

Reyna looked at the door before tucking herself in, and mulled over the idea of bidding Leo good night. Well, if she was going to get those secrets, she was going to have to do this right.

So she opened her door to find Leo back to lazily laying on the couch. He looked up in surprise, nearly hitting the coffee table with his hand.

"Reyna! I thought you already were asleep!"

Reyna put on a fake, pain striking smile. "It would be rude to go to bed without first saying goodnight to my guests," she said silkily. "So, goodnight, Leo."

"_Buenas noches, mi reina."_

* * *

**Disclaimer (I suppose): Sorry, people. I happen to be a girl and not in possession of the characters. Sad day. **

**This chapter took me forever to write, because unlike my other stories, I have absolutely no idea where this one is going. So enjoy the ride! I have a basic plot of things to happen, but an ending...not so much. **

**Thank you for reviews, follows, and favorites! **


	5. Jackson's New Trainee

"DORA, DORA, DORA, THE EXPLORER! BOOTS, THAT SUPER COOL EXPLORADORA! NEED YOUR HELP, GRAB YOUR-"

"LEO! TURN THAT GOD AWFUL SONG OFF!" Reyna screamed as she opened her bedroom door to a very unusual scene.

First off, if Reyna thought the hospital gown was bad, this was worse. Leo had intricately designed himself a costume out of Reyna's spare blanket that was on the couch. The costume consisted of only a cape and a little covering over his groin.

But then he was also dancing. And watching Dora the Explorer on Nick Junior.

Leo momentarily stopped and studied Reyna. "You should really wear your hair down more often," he said as if nothing out of the ordinary had just occurred.

"_Are_ you serious? Were you dropped as a child?" Reyna responded in frustration. Her dogs sat protectively in front of her, whimpering slightly.

Leo put on a thinking face. "No. No, I don't believe so. What would make you think that?"

Reyna gestured to the whole living room, but ended up focusing on him. "Hmm, let me think. You're freaking watching Dora, you're singing along, and…oh! That's right. You're dressed like a dysfunctional superhero or something."

"Oh, this?" Leo said, spreading out the cape. "I was practicing my Wonder Pet skills. You want to be on my team? That's what works best, according to the show," he said in a matter-of-fact voice.

Reyna glared and swiftly took the remote away from the couch cushion. "That's it. No more Nick Junior for you. No Bubble Guppies, no Yo Gabba Gabba, no Wonder Pets, and no Dora!" Reyna announced, but she noticed he looked a little too happy still, so she thought of what she had forgotten. "And don't even think about Go Diego!"

"But- but, Diego's my homie!"

Reyna puckered out her bottom lip in mock. "Aww, the poor baby! Now get dressed!" she barked, walking through the kitchen and letting out her dogs. She then hurried into her own room to get ready for the day.

Once her braid was set and her purple dress shirt and skirt on, Reyna slipped on her heels and applied to usual amount of makeup, ignoring the occasional sightings of Leo peeking into her bedroom in the reflection of the mirror.

She stepped out into the living room to a much nicer view than the first of this morning. All the blankets and pillows were attempted to be set in the right places, but Reyna appreciated the effort and respect of it. Leo, best of all, was actually dressed in a presentable outfit of suspenders and a t-shirt that he had brought from the suitcase at his house.

"Hungry?" Reyna asked, walking past the living room and into the sparkling clean kitchen. She opened up the freezer and recovered two individual packages of the frozen chocolate chip muffins she had made yesterday.

Leo's stomach growled in appreciation, and Reyna had to suppress a smile at his childlike attributes. Luckily, Reyna had mastered this particular expression, and she promptly covered it with her normal expressionless one.

"Those aren't filled with jellybeans, are they?" Leo said, curiously eyeing a package with his hand slowly creeping towards it.

Reyna slapped his hand away. "Don't be stupid, I used chocolate chips, of course," she said. "Now, would you like yours to be warmed up or would you like them cold?"

"How do you like them?"

"Frozen, of course," Reyna replied with ease, taking her muffins out of the plastic baggie and taking a bite of one.

Leo look at her with distaste. "And I'm the weird one? Please warm them up, I don't get this hot by not doing anything. Though most of it is natural," he informed her as Reyna irritably put his in the microwave and set the timer.

Reyna raised her eyebrow as she returned to her own cold muffins. "So, you're implying that you eat warm food to be good looking?"

"You're implying that I'm good looking?" Leo responded with a mischievous smile.

The microwave oven timer went off, so Reyna settled with an eye roll and went to fetch Leo's breakfast. Without even putting heat into the factoring, Reyna reached in with her bare hands and took it out, immediately after finding out just how hot it was and promptly almost dropping the precious muffins on the ground.

"Son of a Valdez!" Reyna cursed, nursing her now burned fingers.

She heard Leo come over from the other side of the clean counter, and he picked up the muffins without a problem. He also gave her a questioning look. "Where did you come up with that particular phrase? 'Son of a Valdez'?"

Reyna looked away, realizing exactly which choice phrase she had just used. "Nothing. It's nothing," she assured. "How come you didn't get burned?" she asked, hoping for a subject change.

Leo just shrugged. "Probably from working with mechanics and all that over the years. Most likely, all the nerves are messed up in my hands. But seriously now, why did you say that?"

_Damn it_, Reyna thought to herself. She took the last bite of her muffin, trying to think of a good way to explain. Now that she looked at it, it was a little embarrassing. He was still staring at her expectantly, so Reyna knew she had to say something.

"Um, I guess it's kind of a habit, really. Your name is the first thing that comes to my head whenever something goes wrong…" she said in total improvisation.

"Flattering that mine's the name that comes to mind! Am I like a bad luck charm or something?" Leo said in offense, his muffins still untouched.

Reyna felt the treacherous blood rushing to her cheeks. "No! No, it's not like that."

"Do explain then," Leo invited with interest clearly in his voice.

Reyna hesitated, not sure if she wanted to tell him that she had blamed him for the deaths of Jason and Piper just for someone to blame. It would hurt him. And though Reyna didn't like Leo all that much, she still respected him as a person and she wouldn't do that to him to his face. Not when his workshop just burned to the ground and he barely got out alive.

"Reyna? Are you going to answer me?"

"Leo, I can't. Not-"

"Hey, Reyna, why are you late for your early schedule?" Percy's voice came ringing from the radio hanging from Reyna's pocket. For once, Reyna was extremely thankful for Percy's annoyingness.

She gave Leo her best apologetic look and hit the button to respond. "I'm leaving right now, so don't you worry," she mock assured, gathering her purse and jacket.

Leo didn't say anything more, but he followed Reyna out the door with the muffins in his hands. He ate them as they walked to the firehouse next door, and Reyna made sure to tell him to make sure he dropped no crumbs on the sidewalk outside the apartments.

"So, why _do_ you go to work so early?" Leo asked as he put his empty plastic baggie in the trash outside the door.

Reyna gave Leo an irritated look before putting the key in the lock and opening the heavy door. "Because I have a lot more work to do than anyone else. Paperwork especially," she explained like it should be obvious.

"So…do you have a radio or something for listening to music? 'Cause mine burned during the fire," Leo asked, following Reyna into the cement room.

Reyna ignored his question and began her daily routine of climbing the stairs and entering her office. She sighed at the amount of paper on her desk that she had to sort through, and also remembered that she needed the mail to be checked at the post office.

However, it didn't open until eight, and according to the clock on her office wall, she still had a twenty minute wait.

Leo sat in the seat across from her desk, staring out her window in a daze for some reason, obviously lost in his thoughts. Reyna decided to continue ignoring him and started to go through the papers on her desk, entering numbers into her computer.

She was making the work schedule for the employed firefighters when it started to get to her. The constant moving and _doing something _that Leo was participating in. He'd shift, tap his fingers, shift again, get up, walk around, tap fingers, stare out the window, tap, shift…it was getting irritating.

Finally, she slapped the desk, causing him to jump in shock. "Stop. Moving. You are driving me crazy!"

"Sorry, I'm ADHD," he said apologetically, but Reyna could sense the humor in his voice.

Reyna turned back to her computer. "No, really?" she said in sarcasm under her breath.

It was quiet in the office, aside from Leo's inability to sit still, but the hallways were starting to get noisy as more firefighters got up for work. The break room across the hall was especially noisy.

The office door opened for a moment, exposing the sounds at an even higher volume for a few seconds until it closed again. Reyna didn't even have to look away from her computer screen to know who it was.

"Yes, Percy?" she asked, sliding her chair over from the computer screen.

Percy was just dressed in a white t-shirt and the bottom half of the firefighter uniform, as it was usually too hot to wear the whole thing. Most people just wore sports shorts, but it was completely unpredictable when a call would come.

He rubbed his black hair away from his face. "Has anyone gone to the post office yet? I want to see if the pay stubs came in."

Reyna shook her head and straightened a short stack of applications. "No, but I was going to go as soon as I got the scheduling done."

"Can I go with you?" Leo asked, jumping up from the chair.

Percy smirked, but Reyna was sure to make sure it didn't go without punishment. This whole thing with Leo was part his fault. "No, actually. I want you to go with Percy over here and start your training."

"I have to train?" Percy asked as Leo asked, "I get to be trained?"

Reyna nodded and shut the screen off on her computer. "Yes, and that's how you'll spend the next few days. Maybe we'll even get a good call for you to practice on."

"But, don't I have to apply first? I didn't even need a job, I'm happy with what I do!" Leo said, backing away from the desk.

Reyna leaned on the desktop with her palms flat. "And how else will you be able to afford a new workshop and pay the rent on your apartment, Leo Valdez?"

She got him there, because he didn't retaliate. Percy smiled and grabbed him by the shirt sleeve. "Come on, man. Training is fun!"

"One more thing, Valdez," Reyna said before they left.

Leo stuck his head through the door. "Yeah?"

"In the name of your mother, please behave and don't do anything stupid! I know Percy can be influential, but don't let it rub in too much," she stated, earning a scoff from Percy in the hallway.

Leo nodded, his brown eyes a little brighter than before. "I'll behave, I promise, Rey-Rey. And for future reference, my mom's name was Esperanza," he said before completely leaving the vicinity and following Percy down the stairs.

Reyna paused at the tiny bit of personal information she had just accidentally got out of him. His mother's name was Esperanza. Most likely Esperanza Valdez.

She quickly wrote that down on a yellow sticky note, stuck it to the computer monitor, and left the firehouse for the post office.

The trip to the post office didn't take too long, and resulted in not much of anything. The pay stubs were there though, which was always something that was looked forward to by most of the firefighters.

Reyna passed them out to everyone as she saw them in the hallways, but kept Percy's with her. She didn't want to interfere his training Leo.

Once that was all done, Reyna shut herself in her office and turned to her computer. She powered on the screen and opened up Google Search. She typed up the name Esperanza Valdez and waited for her slow computer to load.

And then it was loaded all the way. Reyna's heart raced in anticipation as she began to read the first entry.

Then, of course, the bells went off. Reyna irritably looked over the call information, just to find out it was a car wreck on east fifth street. They only needed one truck, it was just a small wreck caused by someone backing into another car, so she only sent a few people, including Percy and Leo for training experience.

Finally, Reyna sat down at her computer again. The first entry turned out to be a small obituary.

_Esperanza Valdez, age 31, of Styx, Texas, died last week on August 12 due to a warehouse fire. _

_She was born to the late Samuel and Elena Valdez, April 5, 1976, in San Antonio, Texas. Esperanza graduated from Edison High School in 1994 and pursued a career in inventing with Festus Travel Industries. She remained unmarried but soon gave birth to her son, Leo Valdez, shortly after relocating to Styx, Texas. _

_As mentioned earlier, Esperanza was hired as an inventor for Festus Travel Industries and remained working with them on a contract until her death. She was said to be very intelligent and passionate about her job, earning Employee of the Month several times during her contract, especially due to her helpful and resourceful ideas. _

_Esperanza was a very loyal and caring mother to her only son, even when times were rough. They stayed in a small house in Styx near her warehouse that she worked in. _

_She is survived by her sister, Rosa (Valdez) Garcia and her son, Leo Valdez. _

_Her funeral will be held on the 19 of August at the Firelight Graveyard. Flowers are requested to be sent via Demeter's Flowershop. _

The article ended there, and a picture of Esperanza was at the top. It was obvious she was still very young in the picture, but she had many stress lines. Esperanza was still very pretty though, and had black hair and matching brown eyes to Leo's.

Reyna backed out of that article and clicked on the next, which was titled _Warehouse Fire Kills Festus Travel Company Employee._

_Wednesday; a spontaneous fire on West Courtland Road in a warehouse left no mercy to Esperanza Valdez, an avid worker for Festus Travel Company when it took her life. _

_Investigators have searched the warehouse for fire hotspots to find the source of the fire to find in fact several initial places. This was no accidental fire. However, the motive remains unknown. _

"_We found about five hotspots created probably by a simple match. The fire was manmade, there's no doubt about it," Chief Firefighter Carl Trout stated at the scene of the fire. _

_Reporters were sent to FTC for a quote on possible motives from Esperanza for starting the fire. "It wouldn't make sense," one representative said, "Esperanza was a very dedicated woman to this company and to her family. I do know one thing though. Esperanza was working on something that would be a huge breakthrough for the company. Take us to the lead in industry against our competitor, Mother Earth Transportation. If I had to chose a suspect, it would be an employee from there," the unnamed representative stated. _

_Esperanza's son was found by police running from the warehouse. He was taken into custody and soon placed with a foster family. He shared no information with the officers regarding his mother's death. _

_More information on this case will be released soon._

Reyna went back to the search page, but didn't find anything new other than a report stating that Mother Earth Transportation was taken in for an interview and investigated. There was no other information on that, however, and all the other articles shared the same sparse amount of information. Even Esperanza's obituary was sparse.

She sighed, her mind overloaded with information as Reyna jotted it all down on a notebook by her desk. Reyna didn't know a lot about Leo Valdez, but she didn't think it was a coincidence that his mother died in a warehouse fire and Leo almost did just recently. And that wasn't including the car wreck.

Reyna's mind flitted back to the man with the eye patch, the one that had approached her and Leo at the Strawberry Garden that one night.

She wished she had gotten his name, that way she could look him up. Reyna was almost certain that this man had something to do with the fires and the wreck. The newspaper article had said something about a competing company with the one Esperanza worked for under contract. What did Esperanza have that would pose a threat to the other company?

Well, Reyna did know one thing. She was definitely making a trip to Mother Earth Transportation within the next week, and Leo was staying in Thebes without her.

She couldn't risk taking him to his possible murderers.

* * *

**Hello, lovely people! Thank you so much for every review, follow, and favorite! **

**Disclaimer: I never have, never will...**


	6. Business Trips

Reyna was pretty sure Leo was going to destroy her house in her absence, but what choice did she have? She couldn't take him to Styx, there was just too much that could go wrong.

Besides, maybe by giving him freedom in her house, he might feel obligated to tell her a little about his past, giving Reyna more insight to the case. Or he might just feel obligated to not clean up and make Reyna's OCD go absolutely insane the moment she stepped in the house.

She hoped he'd at least be responsible enough to take care of Argentum and Aurum for two maybe three days. If he made sure they were let outside, fed, and watered, then it should be okay. She'd even made a point to say that if the dogs were all he was able to take care of, then so be it.

Leo had just begged her more to come in response. Eventually, she'd had to lie, which she felt extremely guilty about, and say it was for a business trip for the firehouse.

Even then, Leo didn't look too convinced. Reyna didn't blame him, her dogs going crazy barking after they detected the lie didn't help too much. Stupid smart dogs.

Reyna really didn't know what had gotten into her. Why did she care about keeping Leo alive so much? So much that she wouldn't even let him go to his own home at night, so much that she let him stay in her own house? It wasn't like her. She didn't know why she was doing all this for him.

Immediately after that thought crossed her mind, she knew why. For Jason. Because Jason was killed because of someone who was after Leo, who wanted Leo to die.

But then came the next question that Reyna hoped to answer during her trip to Styx. Why did someone want to kill Leo? The anonymous person on article on the internet had said Mother Earth Transportation was scared of something Esperanza, his mother had discovered. _What_ exactly had she discovered and did Leo know what it was?

If Leo knew, then that would put a big target on his head. But what if he didn't, and the company just assumed Esperanza had shown him? Better to be safe than sorry and just get rid of him anyway.

Reyna sighed and turned on the radio, trying to keep focused on the road until she reached her destination. She'd been up since three in the morning driving, and it was now nearing four o'clock. Reyna planned to visit the MET main office in the morning because it closed at five, and it was still another thirty minute drive before Styx would come into view.

After a small bag of jellybeans, Reyna pulled into the Super 8 parking lot. She pulled out her few bags, locked her black car, and walked through the glass front doors of the hotel.

The lady at the desk had mousey brown hair with a name tag that read Katie. She appeared to be very bored, but still sounded pleasant when she spoke. "Good afternoon. How may I help you today?"

"Yes, I need my room key. I'm Reyna Rivera," Reyna requested, pulling out her checkbook to pay for the room.

Katie consulted her computer screen. "Ah, here we are. You owe 124. 68 for just the two nights. If you plan on another night, just tell us," Katie told her and Reyna handed the written check out.

"Okay, I'll make sure to tell you, though I don't think it will be necessary," Reyna said graciously.

"Alright, you'll be on the second floor in room 214. It's around the middle of the hallway. The pool is on this floor down that hallway," Katie said, pointing to the left, "and so is the weight room. If you need any help, just call me up here."

Reyna nodded and picked up the room cards Katie had set on the counter. "Thank you," she said and picked up her bags and headed up the stairs.

The hotel had that typical smell of almost carpet that every hotel had. It was decorated with a red theme with flowery carpet in the hallways. At the end of each hallway there was a couple vending machines containing food and soda.

It wasn't a five star hotel, but it was what Reyna could afford with a short notice of booking.

She quickly found her room, 214, and slid the room key through the slot. The door light blinked green, and Reyna pushed open the door to get a blast of extremely cold air.

"Oh my word, it is freezing in here!" Reyna said to herself as she dropped her bags and headed straight for the air conditioner on the wall. She realized it was the middle of June and a hundred degrees every day, but it was not necessary to make the room Antarctica.

Reyna went to work on arranging the room to fit her needs. She organized the clothes in her bags, checked her phone for any missed calls from the fire department, and drug out some paperwork she had brought to work on.

After about an hour of paperwork, Reyna grew bored and decided to look around the hotel. She locked her room and slid the room key into her back pocket, stepping out into the hallway.

She remembered the receptionist, Katie, saying that the swimming pool and weight room were on the first floor, meaning that the lounge and all that probably were too. Reyna decided to go check it out just for something to do.

The hotel didn't appear to be very busy, but then again it was a Tuesday night and not many people were out and traveling. Reyna first passed by the lounge, which caught her attention almost immediately.

A piano.

Reyna's fingers stretched out in response, aching to feel the familiarity of the keys that she had once loved, but gave up. The piano was elegantly situated behind the green arched couches, just in front of the window.

Almost in a daze, Reyna walked towards the empty bench. She found herself lifting the oak lid and her fingers automatically finding their place on the keys.

Without much thought, she began to play Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata, the song she had played for the last concert her father had been able to attend before he died of cancer when she was fifteen.

Her father had loved to play the piano, and after his death Reyna couldn't take the pain of losing him. So she never played again. Her older sister hadn't pressured her into restarting, after all, Hylla had stopped being there for Reyna all together.

Hylla had stopped being herself. The once overly protective happy sister Reyna had known her entire life turned into one that was blank and secretive, only speaking to Reyna when necessary. Not like Reyna herself hadn't changed, but for a fifteen year old it was traumatizing to have no one left.

Reyna hadn't spoken to Hylla ever since they took Reyna away to a separate foster home.

But here she was, ten years later, playing as if nothing ever changed in her life. Like Reyna was fifteen again, sitting on the stage with the spotlights on her, in front of a crowd big enough to overfill the college auditorium she was playing in. Her heart solely poured into the notes, trying to make this concert worth her father's trip from his hospital bed.

"You're very talented, you know," a deep voice said.

Reyna's fingers clashed on the keys by surprise. Her eyes flew to the owner of the voice, who turned out to be a tall blonde man sitting on the couch reading a traveling magazine.

"Thank you, I didn't notice you come in," Reyna said graciously. "It's been years since I last played though, so I can't imagine I sound too well."

The man flipped a page in the magazine, not looking at Reyna. "On the contrary, your playing is very clean and natural. Who taught you to play?" the blonde man asked.

Reyna hesitated, but then decided that he couldn't use it against her. "My father did. But he's dead now," she answered.

"I see. I'm sorry for your loss," he said, though he didn't really sound sorry. The way he wouldn't look at her was suspicious in a way.

Reyna stood up from the bench and closed the oak lid again. "Thank you. I must be going now, I have much to do," she said tightly, her mind flashing back to the night Jason died.

The man stood up and blocked her way out of the lounge doors. Now he was looking at her, Reyna could see a thick scar going across his face, mangling what might've been a handsome face at one time. His eyes had an icy cold blue feel about them.

"Miss Rivera, make sure you keep playing the right thing. Don't get caught up in some game that you can't end," he said in an ominous tone.

Reyna stepped back, wishing she had something other than a room key and a phone for protection. "Who are you, and how do you know my name?" she demanded.

"You can call me Luke," the man offered. "As for your name, that's confidential. Now didn't you have to be leaving?" he reminded, taking a step to the side to allow clearance.

Reyna weighed her options. Since she was defenseless, obviously attacking him would do no good. Besides, she couldn't be thrown in the Styx County Jail when Leo's life could possibly be on the line. Reyna decided to keep a calm aura and get out of sight of this Luke.

"Yes, I do. Goodbye now."

* * *

**Mother Earth Transportation**

_Because Life's a Game of Dice_

"Isn't that just nice?" Reyna mumbled to herself as she read the giant mural positioned above the entry doors to MET.

To anyone else, that motto might not mean much of anything. The average person might think it meant that things happened at inconvenient times. But to Reyna after her creepy encounter with Luke last night, she wasn't quite sure.

"Miss Rivera, make sure you keep playing the right thing. Don't get caught up in some game that you can't end," he had said last night.

Well, this stupid motto said that life itself was a game. Or was it implying that the company was a game? Maybe Reyna was over thinking this. She just needed to get in there and do some investigating without getting caught. _Caught up in the game… _

"Shut up, Luke," Reyna muttered to herself again, this time within earshot of a few employees. She sent them a quick glare, and they immediately looked away.

Well, at least her intimidating looks worked on some people. And there she was, back again to being reminded of the night that changed everything, how she had hoped her dress would scare Leo off.

The MET building wasn't at all how Reyna expected it to be. She expected it to be one of the tallest skyscrapers in Styx, bold and out there. But it was quite the opposite, being almost completely underground with the exception of one floor on the ground.

So when they said Mother Earth, they literally meant in-the-earth. At least they were straightforward, Reyna would give the company that.

She straightened her black skirt before entering through the heavy metal doors that served as the main entrance. Inside, Reyna was greeted by a long black counter with about fifty receptionists behind just the front with about another fifty workers in the back just from what Reyna could see. There were no windows or outside air vents anywhere, literally giving Reyna the feeling that she was suffocating.

Reyna sucked in a breath and walked with her back straight and chin up and approached the first available secretary. The woman had hair and eyes the same brown color, with a round face. She had an earpiece attached to the side of her face.

"Welcome to Mother Earth Transportation. My name is Miranda. How may I help you?" she greeted in a well rehearsed voice.

Reyna leaned against the counter, hardly taking time to admire the expensive black marble countertop. "Yes, I was interested in maybe getting a job here, but I was hoping to maybe get a little information about this company as a whole. Perhaps someone to show me around and tell me about this place?" Reyna smoothly lied.

A look crossed Miranda's face that Reyna couldn't quite identify. "Oh, I see," Miranda tightly said. She paused for a second, then hit a few buttons on her computer. "You know what? I'll just take you," Miranda said, and opened up the door and passed through.

"Okay, thank you," Reyna said, noticing that Miranda was taller than her. But then again, Reyna was shorter than the average person and this woman had four inch heels on.

Miranda walked her down the first several floors down, absentmindedly pointing out the room names and purposes without much emotion. Reyna paid attention though, taking in every detail just in case she needed it. It wasn't really necessary, however. Reyna had a hidden. recorder behind her ear.

The brown haired woman led her down a dark and deserted passageway and into a dead end other than a door. Miranda opened the door with a small key, and motioned for Reyna to enter.

Reyna narrowed her eyes, not really trusting this woman or the company. She didn't take one step into the dark room. "No, you can go first."

Miranda shrugged. "I don't blame you," she muttered, and helped herself in with Reyna then following.

The lights turned on, revealing a large room full of filing cabinets and boxes that were stacked upon each other in an orderly way, though they weren't labeled.

The woman turned to her in a hushed and forbidden way, and Reyna became aware that she had brought her here for a reason.

"I know you're not interested in a job, you're just lucky you came to me instead of someone else," Miranda started, suddenly whipping around to search a box of files aimlessly.

Reyna followed suite and opened up a nearby grey filing cabinet. "How did you know?" she admitted, deciding to place a little trust in the woman.

Miranda paused. "People come in all the time asking for jobs when they don't really mean it. They just want to spy on the company. But not all want information, others want revenge. So let's be honest with each other, which are you?" she said very straightforwardly.

"Neither," Reyna easily answered, earning a surprised look from Miranda. "I'm here on other purposes. I want to know the motives that this company runs on."

"Motives?"

Reyna stopped shuffling through the files. "If, say, a competing company had discovered something that was a breakthrough in technology. Something that would cause them to overcome MET," Reyna suggested casually.

Miranda moved closer, her face ghost white. "I used to be the file manager here, until Miss Gaea, the CEO of this company moved me, saying there was no need for me to be here any longer. I wasn't the only one, there were five of us in total," she said in a hushed tone. "We learned things, too much. We knew all the company's dirty secrets and tricks that it used to stay on the top."

"I see," Reyna said, nodding in interest.

"Out of the five of us, I'm the only one left," she added quietly. "Slowly and unsuspicious, one by one we died. Don't you see? The secrets die with us. So whatever you want, whatever you need, I'm your last hope! _You're_ everyone's last hope."

And suddenly, Reyna understood what this woman went through every day she went to work here. A death sentence written on her head just for the information she held, a warning to keep the secrets she held locked up by the four others deaths. Miranda was desperate to find someone to set all this straight before she too was taken, and now she had. All she was asking for was for Reyna to consent to join.

"_Don't get caught up in some game you can't end…"_

Reyna unfolded the papers she had printed off her computer yesterday morning.

"Festus Travel Company employee Esperanza Valdez mysteriously dies in fire after discovering a breakthrough for FTC. Know anything about it?"

* * *

**Thank you for all your reviews, follows, and favorites! I hope I did okay on this chapter, I tried to build things up and I ended up rewriting it like three times. I finally know what I'm going to do with this story on the bright side!**

**Disclaimer: Isn't necessary because I don't own. Plain and simple!**


	7. Mother's Watching

Reyna studied the stack of files that was laid on her hotel bedside table.

Files that contained everything Miranda hadn't been able to say out loud during her time at the company for fear of being discovered. Miranda had immediately known exactly what Reyna was talking about, but she said nothing. Only searched through a file cabinet in the corner of the room, pulled out the stack of files, and handed them to Reyna before making a motion towards the door.

Apparently, Miranda's time with Reyna had been up.

Which left Reyna to wonder how she was going to get the stack of files out without being too suspicious. Some she folded in half and stuffed in her purse, others she hid in her shirt, and the rest went in a very small briefcase she had found in the back of the room.

As Reyna had passed Miranda out the door, Miranda had handed her a small piece of paper, which Reyna had discovered to be a time and place for them to meet in private, away from Mother Earth Transportation.

Tonight. At a church of all places.

Reyna decided to not risk another night in Styx under the watchful eye of Mother Earth Transportation and just meet Miranda at midnight tonight.

She even hated staying this one more night, but it was the only choice she had if she wanted to meet with Miranda. And it was essential that Reyna talk with her.

Reyna read the files intently, sometimes taking pictures with her phone of important information just in case these files were destroyed. She wasn't exactly trusting much of anything at the moment, especially as she read on through the files.

Mother Earth Transportation was a murderer.

Any company that showed even the slightest bit of competition towards MET had tragic things happen to it, all which were explained in each case file. The CEO came down with a near extinct disease. The employees all quit. And fires. Tons and tons of fires in almost all facilities, sometimes killing a hundred people.

The odd thing about most of these cases? None were ever investigated by the police department. Like they had no interest in what this company was doing.

The next file explained why the police had no interest. Turns out, MET donated millions of dollars to the police department each year. The police department wouldn't want to bite the hand that feeds them.

"How messed up is society these days?" Reyna muttered to herself. She read through a few more cases before a knock came on her door. It was the pizza she had ordered.

Reyna swam through the files spread all around and made her way to the door. "Hello. How much do I owe you?" Reyna asked as she unlocked the door.

Not for the first time, Reyna had a sense of déjà vu as she came face to face with the pizza man. He had sandy hair and blue eyes, with features not unlike those of the mysterious Luke Reyna had come across last night at the piano. It was rather unsettling.

The pizza man, however, seemed to be in a completely different mood than Luke. He was smiling in a mischievous way and seemed to have a care free attitude. The nametag on his green outfit deemed him to be Travis.

"Good day, Missy," the pizza man said, stressing the o' s in good. "Alright, so one small pepperoni for ya? That'll be eight dollars and forty-nine cents."

Reyna nodded and handed him a ten. "Keep the change," Reyna told him as she took the box from his hands.

"Sweet!" he exclaimed, rummaging through his pockets and putting the bill in. "Not many people tip my brother and I, especially at this hotel. I think Katie's got somethin' to do with it. She tell you anything about us?" Travis asked.

She shook her head, not being able to remember anything about the pizza man in her conversations with Katie. "No, she's never said anything. Why?"

The man shifted uncomfortably. "Well, you see-"

The both of them looked down the hall as something shattered. The something turned out to be a decorative pot filled with fake flowers next to the candy machine. The maker of the noise turned out to be a very similar looking boy who seemed to just be a little shorter, who was holding a small stack of candy bars. It must be the brother Travis had been talking about.

"Connor! I told you to be careful! What if Katie heard that?" Travis reprimanded, backing away from the door. He looked over to Reyna questionably. "You'll not say a word about that, right?"

As Reyna closed the door and walked down the hallway with Travis, she narrowed her eyes, looking from brother to brother. Her gaze flitted to the candy bars in Connor's hand. "Did you _steal_ those?" she asked in a dangerous voice.

Connor's face went white. "I'm so sorry ma'am! We were just borrowing them anyways, Katie understands. Well, maybe not your definition of understand, but you get the point!"

"Are you going to put those back?" Reyna pushed, not tearing her gaze away from his blue eyes.

Connor pointed to the machine. "I don't think you can-"

"Then you'll hand them to Miss Katie yourself," Reyna concluded, cutting him off. She looked over to Travis, who was trying to conceal the silent laughter and instead leaning with his hands against the wall. "And you'll apologize," Reyna added to Travis.

It was Travis's turn to flush white. "I'm sorry, what?"

Reyna smirked and grabbed both of the pizza boy's shirt collars and drug them into the elevator. For the two floors down, they begged her not to make them do this and they would do anything, but Reyna ignored her pleas. There was only one way to make this right. She'd already had a night filled with crime.

Katie was cleaning out the coffee machines when the elevator dinged open, and her face filled with surprise as she saw the sight of Reyna holding both Travis and Connor by the necks.

She put her hands on her hips, and her green eyes flashed dangerously. "What have they done now?"

Reyna pushed them towards Katie, but didn't release her grip. "These two have something to talk to you about," Reyna informed the brown haired girl.

Connor gave Reyna one last pleading look, which Reyna responded to with a stony face. He held out the candy bar assortment to Katie with a flinch.

Katie took them with a suspicious face. "What are these for?" she asked, but then a look of comprehension crossed her face. "Oh no. You two did not- You were stealing from the candy machines! Shame on you!" she said, her voice rising with every word.

"Katie, we didn't mean any harm-" Travis started, but was interrupted by a screaming Katie.

"Irresponsible, lying, deceitful! You are the worst pizza men I have ever had! This goes on my file, you know? That you were stealing while I was on shift! Oh, I hate you so so much!"

Travis backed up. "Well, when you say it like that…"

Reyna pushed him forward again as Katie continued her rant. Reyna had not expected Katie to explode like that. Apparently, this had happened before, since the two pizza men were scared to confess.

Which reminded her, she had a perfectly good pizza upstairs that was getting colder by the minute. She gave a slight nod of recognition to Katie, who told her through eye that she had it all under control (which Reyna had not a doubt about), and took the shiny elevator back up to her floor.

Reyna walked through the drab hallways and down to her room. What she saw confused her, because Reyna had been absolutely sure that she had closed her door upon going after Connor.

But the door was wide open. Dangerously wide open.

Reyna hesitated at the doorframe. Her hand went down to her boot, where she had hidden a hunting knife that had been passed down from her father. She felt the familiarly smooth handle and pulled it out, stancing at the door.

Cautiously, with her senses working overtime, Reyna stepped into the dimly lit room since the hotel only had lamps as a source of light. The bathroom was searched at knife point first.

Reyna's eyes landed on the light green closed shower curtain. Surely the door opener wouldn't be hiding in the shower? It sounded too much like a predictable horror movie.

Even so, Reyna pushed her knife towards the edge of the curtain and slashed it to the side.

Nothing. Just the bare white wall.

Reyna didn't dare breathe in relief. They could still be hidden in the room, if the searcher had bothered to stay. By now, it seemed unlikely. If the person had found what they wanted, they would have been long gone in the time it took Reyna to take the two pizza men downstairs.

It didn't necessarily mean that they hadn't remained behind, but it was still a factor. Reyna decided not to linger on her thoughts too much, her adrenaline might be tainting her ability to reason out things, no matter how much training Reyna had in firefighting.

Besides, this situation was completely different than what Reyna had trained for. She knew fires better than she knew people. Fires were predictable. People weren't.

Reyna tentatively stepped out of the bathroom, putting her right foot onto the dark red carpet. She held her knife to the side as she veered the corner and faced the room. Everything seemed to be as normal, but that certainly didn't mean anything.

She checked the corners of the small closet, even though it was almost physically impossible to place a baby there, and looked under the bed. She was almost happy to find that it wasn't possible to even hide under the bed since it was filled in.

Heart still beating in unsatisfaction of being reassured, Reyna double checked the door lock and the windows, just to be sure. All secure. Reyna even looked out the window for any suspicious things, but everything seemed to be in order.

Reyna slipped her knife back into her boot and collapsed onto the bed, even though her mind was still throbbing from the adrenaline rush.

She stared at the papers, but soon lost concentration as she realized how silly she was being. Reyna was just hyped up from seeing all these murderous files, she probably left the door open without even noticing. Ridiculous, that's what she was being.

Now with a feeling of shame, Reyna picked up the pizza box and took a slice out. Reyna wasn't exactly crazy about the stuff like the rest of America, but it sufficed as something cheap and quick that would be delivered straight to the hotel.

As she finished the slice in record time due to hunger, Reyna's eyes flitted to the top record in her pile. Her hand stopped just above another piece of pizza as she actually absorbed what the headline of that particular paper.

An official typed headline that had definitely not been on top when Reyna had gone to fetch her food, she knew that for certain.

**Confidential: No. 86:**

**Festus Travel Company; Esperanza Valdez. File A.**

Reyna was almost sure she'd have a heart attack. Just a headline, and nothing else but a blank paper. She wasn't crazy, she hoped. Something was up. How else did this file make its way to the top. Reyna hadn't even read this one yet. She would remember a blank paper for sure.

Someone knew what Reyna was after other than Miranda. Or had Miranda let it slip that Reyna was investigating why MET was after Leo?

She found it improbable. Miranda had been scared out of her wits even if she hadn't shown it this morning. The only way Miranda might've said a word was if she was tortured or bribed into it. But how would they have found out that Miranda had shared the company's top secret information with Reyna?

Reyna suddenly realized something. What if the meeting tonight was a trap? What if it was only a plot to capture Reyna so that she would also take the secrets to the grave?

Looking at the blank sheet in front of her, Reyna knew she had to go anyways. For Leo. She'd done this much to preserve his life, might as well as go all the way.

Reyna just hoped it was worth it. Leo had to be worth it, if this company was going to such lengths as to kill his mother and now possibly him.

She looked at the clock, which read a quarter after eleven already. Reyna had about fifteen minutes before she had to leave to meet Miranda.

Without a second thought, Reyna snatched the hotel brand pen and notepad. And then, she wrote Leo a goodbye note.

_Leo,_

_If I don't return from this, know that I lied to you. I wasn't going on a business trip, technically. I was trying to save your life. I don't even know if you'll ever even see this note, but if you do, please listen. _

_Run. Get away and don't leave a single trace behind you. I died for you, god damnit, so you better listen and make yourself invisible. I don't ever want you to come back, and I don't want you to avenge my death if you feel the need for whatever reason. It's pointless and you won't get away with it if I'm dead. _

_But I do want you to know that MET will stop at nothing to get whatever information you know about your mother's creation. I don't know what it is and why you haven't chosen to share it with me, but I understand that it's none of my business. _

_-Reyna_

Reyna stared at the note she had just written. She felt her hand lift the pen up again, and added something in a post scriptum.

_P.S. You aren't as bad as I originally thought. Please make sure my dogs are okay, if that isn't too much. Maybe if things hadn't happened like they did the first time we met, we'd have a better relationship with each other. _

She paused, and added another note.

_P.P.S. And no, Leo. I'm not confessing my undying love for you. I'm just saying that maybe, _maybe_, Leo, we could have been a little something more. Don't go to crazy, now. _

Reyna almost caught herself smiling as she wrote the last part, imagining Leo's reaction. But then she caught herself. What was wrong with her?

It seemed that the thought of death had changed how Reyna viewed her housemate.

* * *

**Okay, this might be the only update for the next few weeks as I'm going on vacation for a while where there will be no internet service! I hurried to get this chapter done before I leave Sunday and I hope to get The Writing Desk's next chapter up tomorrow!**

**If you read Fame And Change and are interesting in the sequel, I'd suggest you go to my profile and vote on what you'd like to see in it! Thank you for all votes, by the way!**

**Thank you for the nice reviews I got last chapter, I appreciate them! I also want to thank the follows, favorites, and reads! You people are awesome, remember that!**


	8. Disastrous Consequences

Reyna was surprised by how obvious the meeting place was.

It was an elegant but gothic built church, surrounded by many lights and murals from scenes in the bible. Reyna was used to Catholic churches like the ones back in Puerto Rico, but this American church was slightly different than the usual. Like it was trying to be modern but dearly failing at it.

But then again, it could just be the darkness and the anxiety Reyna was feeling.

From the sounds of it, the church was going through a midnight sermon. The dull sound of people singing could be heard, occasionally paused by the pastor. Reyna supposed this could be a good thing since it wouldn't be suspicious that she was going to a church at night.

Reyna nervously wrapped her jacket tighter around her arms as she walked through the glass doors. Inside, she found herself to be in a lobby elaborately decorated with antique furniture and old seventies orange carpet.

In an unusual way, the church was homey. Not like that really helped Reyna's situation, however.

She wandered around the lobby aimlessly, tossing around the idea of maybe exploring. Reyna didn't know where she was supposed to meet Miranda at in the church, so she could only hope that Miranda would find her.

Eventually, Reyna found herself looking at the confirmation pictures, where the younger teenagers who attended the church would go through a few years of lessons and be admitted to the church as a member of the congregation in a celebration, as Reyna read in the description plate boldly placed on the top. Since Reyna had been accustomed to Catholic churches as a young child she had heard of such a thing, but never really understood what it meant. But also relying on the fact of this being a protestant church, rituals could very well have different meanings.

As she looked across the pictures of teenagers in robes, smiling with the pastor, Reyna noticed the decrease in people as time went on. The pictures from decades ago had many teens in them, while the recent ones were lucky to have maybe one in them.

Reyna's eyes caught something familiar out of the corner of her eye. Her gaze snapped to a picture dated to the year 1982, with the list of names telling of the just six people in the picture.

And the black haired Latina girl matched up to the name. _Esperanza Valdez. _

Reyna stepped back in disbelief. Could this just be a coincidence? It didn't make sense that Esperanza had gone to a protestant church. Not that Reyna was being stereotypical on purpose, but she supposed that she had automatically expected anyone of her type to be Catholic.

She cursed her narrow-mindedness sometimes. Reyna couldn't afford to make automatic assumptions at a time like this.

But Reyna couldn't stop her heart from picking up pace, or her body heat to suddenly rise in panic. Her level headedness was leaving at a run, but Reyna called for it to come back.

"_Trap_!" her mind screamed at her. "_Get away_!"

Reyna felt like she was tearing apart at a quick pace and was at a mental war to keep herself together. She stumbled to the chaple doors, where the music was coming from, hoping to find someone to help her.

The wooden doors slung open with a loud bang, but Reyna could not breathe in relief. Her stomach threatened to push out her ordered pizza as Reyna stared at the speakers and the disk player positioned around the large room, playing at a loud volume to mask the disguise of the emptiness.

There were no other cars in the parking lot that Reyna had walked through after hiding her car on the side of the road, Reyna realized. Maybe she had again automatically assumed they were somewhere else.

Reyna ran back to the glass doors, almost certain that she had been set up now. Her knuckles clenched against the handles that wouldn't budge, locked from the inside.

_Trap_.

"Oh, god," Reyna whispered to herself. "No. No. Please no," she found herself begging, and then cursing.

And at that moment, Reyna didn't care that she was cursing in a church, she needed back home, no matter how selfish that thought was. She'd spent her whole life contributing to everyone else, making sure they were happy and putting herself last. Reyna could afford to spend some time being selfish for once.

She needed her dogs, her firehouse, her job, her employees, even the annoying Percy Jackson. Reyna wished she'd never come, so she'd never known anything. She should've taken Leo far away and left him, or maybe never saved him from that fire, though she hadn't realized it at the time it was him.

It was amazing, really, how the smallest decisions could change the outcome of everything.

"I wanted you to understand," a familiar voice said from behind, "how truly manipulative Mother Earth Transportation was."

Reyna unlatched from the door handle and spun to see the voice with full intentions of defending herself. Her hand held her father's knife with barely a second's movement and she held it out to the person.

It was Miranda.

"I'm sorry to scare you. But you can put that down. I'm of no use dead," she said lightly.

Reyna lowered the hunting knife. "What was that for?" she hissed, narrowing her eyes.

Miranda's lips tightened. "I told you. To help you understand MET's ways of killing you. I'm just wandering how I'll be killed," she explained again. Miranda then motioned to a darkened hallway. "Come now, we haven't much time."

Reyna followed her with somewhat hesitancy down the hallway, her senses still on overdrive. She was angry with Miranda for doing that to her, and still didn't fully believe her, but understood the motive. Reyna knew just how dangerous MET was.

"In here," Miranda said, opening a door that had a nameplate on it calling the room The Study. Dim lights flickered on, showing the room to be completely enclosed by thick brick walls with no windows. Whether this was a good thing or not Reyna had yet to find out.

Miranda waited for Reyna to step all the way in and then closed the door and locked it, even taking a few precautions to put a few chairs and shelves in front of it. Finally, Miranda sat in the brown plastic chair on the opposite side of Reyna.

Reyna crossed her legs and attempted to calm herself down once again and focus on everything Miranda had to say. "Why did you pick this particular church?" Reyna tried to say in a nice voice, but ended up coming out rather hostile.

"You saw the reason, did you not?" Miranda responded, pushing her brown hair back from her face. "Esperanza Valdez came here as a child not because it was her religion, but because she felt like she fit in here. All her friends attended this church, so to not come along she would've been excluding herself. We've all wanted to fit in before, haven't we?"

Reyna tried to think of a time when she'd tried to fit in, but was approaching difficulty in doing so. Everything Reyna had done had been to be different and be noticed. To be respected and not like everyone else as average people. "I cannot relate," she stated.

Miranda shrugged. "I'm sure you're just not thinking hard enough. Moving on," she said as Reyna opened her mouth to object, "I brought you here to tell you of the hidden files, the ones only known by word of mouth."

"I'm listening," Reyna said, her eyes focused on the door.

Miranda swallowed. "Now, I don't know the full story and you might be able to access the truth if you _know the right people_," Miranda said with hidden meanings thick in her voice. "But I do know a lot of it."

"Esperanza knew she was going to die for her invention, that was made obvious when she came to this church frequently weeks before her death, arranging things so that her funeral would be quick and easy. She destroyed all evidence that she could of her son's identity, but government files are hard to erase. Especially when MET has such good connections with the government," Esperanza said.

Reyna realized she had been clenching her fists so hard that her fingernails were digging into the flesh of her palm. "Do you know what it was that she had invented exactly?"

"No, only that it was like a plane and used nothing of land," Miranda answered. "You can understand why that would be threatening since MET has the largest system of underground subways. Many might be willing to change their way of traveling if Festus Travel Company offered a cheaper, quicker, and more convenient way doing so."

"How would it be any different than a plane? And besides, lots of inventions as far as air travel have been disastrous as inventors tried to make them better. I'm just curious as to what the product is" Reyna interjected, her tiredness making her a little more cranky than usual.

Miranda didn't say anything and just shrugged. "I cannot accurately answer your question, only the CEO knows what and why to eliminate the competition."

Reyna was beginning to grow irritated with Miranda's half answers. Granted, they did hold some information, but it still requited Reyna to do more impossible research. If the CEO was the only one who knew the answers, then wouldn't that mean that Reyna would have to speak with them? She didn't like the sound of that too much.

"Who _is_ this owner of Mother Earth Transportation?" Reyna asked with more bitterness in her tone than she meant.

Miranda actually smiled, though it held no sign of happiness. "Why, Gaea Terra, of course. Or have you never heard of her?"

Reyna searched her mind for any recognition of the name, but couldn't find any. Then again, her mind was only half operating at the moment. "No. Should I?"

"Hmmm, I don't know whether you were fortunate or unfortunate as a child. Anyways, about fifteen years ago Gaea started a big uprising after her company was on the verge of bankruptcy due to many foreign companies started to move in to the United States. Gaea sent a few of her closer 'friends' out to try to dispose of them or buy out the company. It worked for a while, but they started to come back. And that's when Gaea started to realize that she needed to dig up the roots and eliminate them from the source."

"Like a dandelion," Reyna added, her disgust with MET growing all the more.

Miranda grimly nodded. "Exactly. So she'd kill off the best inventors, make the company therefore fail, and there it was. The company disappeared as the owners did. Anything else you needed?"

Reyna almost lost it as she realized what Miranda had just asked. Anything else? _Anything else_? "That's all you had to tell me? Seriously? Not that I'm ungrateful or anything, but I have someone's life on the line here!" Reyna exclaimed.

Miranda didn't look at her directly, instead focusing on something behind Reyna. "Be careful of how close you become to him, he carries more than he knows. You'll find everything else you need with him."

"How do you-"

"Well, you haven't been entirely secretive," Miranda interrupted. "And MET has Esperanza Valdez's son under watchful eyes, and they're panicking because they cannot find him. Wherever you have him, keep him there. And I drew conclusions from what you wanted, that's how I knew you were associated with her son. Gaea does not know of you. Yet."

Reyna found herself standing up from the chair. Miranda stayed in her seat. "Thank you, Miranda. I'll try my best to set things straight, okay? For you and everyone that has any connection with Mother Earth Transportation. I hope to see you again."

"I sincerely hope the best for you. But listen to what others say and take it into consideration, for I am not sure I've done anything that will preserve your life. Perhaps he was right," Miranda muttered, and Reyna got the feeling that she wasn't talking to her.

Unconsciously, Reyna took a step towards the door. "Um, who is 'he'?"

Miranda looked up in surprise, and actually met Reyna's eye. "Sorry, just a collogue of mine, Luke Castellon."

* * *

Morning did not come fast.

Reyna had spent all night lying awake, a million things running through her mind. She was used to thinking herself to sleep through stress, it was not something out of the ordinary. But then she'd hear something.

And she'd think, "_Did that happen last night? What could that sound be?"_

Then the panicking would set in. The kind that she remembered as a little girl when she didn't know what that shadow was or what that sound had been and let her imagination run away with her, creating an even bigger mess.

Only now her dad wasn't there to consul her and show her how silly she was being.

However, Reyna did make it through the dreadful night as the rising morning sun proudly exclaimed. She couldn't help but feel a little safer with the light though Reyna had always preferred the night over day.

Mother Earth was messing with Reyna's opinions on things way too much for Reyna's liking. Just another reason to shut her beloved company down.

Reyna pulled herself out of the hard hotel bed with scratcy sheets and attempted to organize all the papers that Miranda had given her. Just being in possession of these files put a death sentence of Reyna's head, but what Gaea didn't know didn't bother her. For now. Who knew how long it would take her until she discovered her precious secrets were unleashed?

She ended up hiding the files between her clothes in her duffle bag. Reyna didn't know where else to put them in all honesty.

Reyna threw her hair in a quick French braid, put on a simple shirt and jeans, and gathered all her things in the room. Once everything was together and packed, Reyna used the side door at the end of the hall and went down the outside stairs to her car that was parked just below.

Making sure to have both room keys, Reyna drove around to the main entrance and parked her car in front. She got out and ran in to the front desk to check out.

Only as Reyna walked through the glass doors, she noticed something was very wrong in the atmosphere.

Most of the employees were huddled around the desk, consoling the crying brown haired secretary who was shaking with sobs as the telephone in front of her was carelessly laying on its side, unhooked from its place.

"I-I t-t-t-old her it- it w-w-as…W-why? Oh!" Katie sobbed, barely even able to form the words as she collapsed into her arms again.

Reyna didn't know what to do. She'd never been good in situations like this, she always felt awkward and left it to others to help. She knew that handing over the room keys now would be rude and inconsiderate, so she just laid them on the counter top.

She made eye contact with one of the red haired maids and asked without words what was wrong. The maid came around from the desk inconspicuously and lowered her voice.

"Her sister Miranda was found dead this morning."

* * *

**Hello...So I'm back from the ultimate vacation gone wrong. Long story short: I got in a car wreck and now have a broken leg and a few other minor injuries...I personally think it's karma for killing off too many people in my stories due to car accidents. Anyways, thanks to a very nice sister who bought me a new laptop since mine was destroyed in the crash I am back! **

**Well, kind of. I still have to rest periodically and I'm not supposed to spend too much time on the computer because of my stupid concussion...but whatever. Thank god I already had this chapter almost finished and protected on a flash drive!**

**Thank you, thank you, and thank you for every review, follow, and favorite! I'd also like to thank those of you who were so nice to understand the whole situation through the PMs my sister or I responded to you in. I hope to get back to writing ASAP!**


	9. Alive

"Don't worry, I'm getting you your food!" Leo called to the impatient dogs who were whining at a very annoying tone for Leo to feed them.

Leo finished with the dishes and looked at the clock on the microwave. Ten o'clock already? Leo couldn't believe it had gotten late so quick. But he supposed cleaning did pass the time away.

All morning, since waking up at six o'clock sharp, Leo had been working on making Reyna's house sparkle. Not like he had really made a mess of Reyna's home in the first place, he was just looking to impress her. Leo was trying to prove that he wasn't a walking disaster and could actually do things and have good consequences.

Then, maybe she'd consider another date. Well, maybe a first date since the original one didn't really count and no one wanted to remember it anyway.

Starting new, Leo liked that.

He wondered when Reyna would be home. She'd said that the trip would take one or two days, and it had already been two nights. If he had to stay another night alone in this house with Aurum and Argentum, Leo wasn't sure he'd make it out alive. Those two dogs had it out for him, with their constant growling and barking at nonexistent people at the door until Leo got up and looked for nothing.

Leo wiped off the counters, threw the rag in the dirty laundry, and walked over to the dog bowls. He picked each one up and dipped it into the bag, filling each bowl completely up so that the dogs would stay satisfied for at least an hour. Leo was sure that if Reyna found out that he was overfeeding her dogs that she would give him a lecture on dog obesity and how it's dulling their senses or something.

"There. Happy, Aurum and Argentum?" Leo asked them with thick sarcasm. Aurum looked up from the bowl and gave him a Are-You-Stupid look and then returned back to the bowl.

Leo did a pathetic little dance and gave them a thumbs up. "Perfect! See you later, Swagagawea and Yolotopia!" he said in a fake happy voice, escaping from the back porch as fast as he could. Once the two dogs figured out that he changed their names from complicated Latin names to relate to swag and YOLO, he was dead meat. And trust him, those dogs _would_ figure it out.

Or they'd tell on him to Reyna. Leo wasn't sure what would be worse.

Now Leo didn't know what to do. He didn't have to be at the firehouse unless there was a call today, the house was almost completely clean, and he didn't feel like going anywhere. He didn't have any money to buy anything anyway, but it was worth a thought.

He flopped down on the couch, his hands moving uncontrollably due to his ADHD. He expertly scrolled through the channels, but found nothing interesting on. Eventually, though it was still early in the day, Leo fell asleep.

_"_Mamá_, what is that?" Leo asked, not yet tall enough to see the diagram drawn out on the counter. _

_ Esperanza Valdez smiled down at her son as she lifted him up and sat him on the counter top. "This, mi mijo, is a great _dibujo_ that _su madre _has been working on for a very long time," she explained as she pointed to the intricate designs on the drawing. "You inspired me."_

_ Leo didn't understand how he had inspired her to make his crayon drawing a reality. He'd just been using his imagination and creating a world in his head where flying ships were real. But now his crayon drawing was re-sketched onto an official blue print diagram, and it looked so concrete. "_Qué _is it for?" _

_ Esperanza laughed. "What is it for? Why, Leo, it is for my work. And I promise you, once I finish this, we will have a real house, not that stinky _apartamento_ we live in now. We," she said, lifting Leo up and spinning him around, "will be rich!"_

_ "_Más, más_, _Mamá!_" Leo yelled happily as she twirled him around. "More!"_

_ Esperanza smiled and sat him down on the counter once more. "Sorry, mijo, but I must get back to work. But I want you to remember that I have many wishes for you, but one remains my greatest," she said, taking out a knife sharpened pencil and adding a few things to the deck. _

_ "Qué is that?" Leo asked in interest, looking up at his mother. _

_ She smiled and pushed the stray piece of black hair behind her ear that never seemed to stay. "You know the bad guys in those cartoons you watch on _Sábado_ mornings? The ones that always want the money, or the magic object, or the power?"_

_ Leo nodded in excitement. It was one of the few luxuries he got to do; they went down to the laundromat and his mother did the laundry and he watched television on Saturdays. _

_ "Well, if we ever encountered a bad guy like that who wanted your invention," Esperanza said, "then I would want you to run away. I don't want you to fight, because this __is the real world, where the good people are constantly losing. It's better to just run away and leave it all behind. That's what I wish for you to do. Run."_

"Leo? Leo!" a strong voice said, echoing through the small apartment. Leo jumped up from the couch, not really sure what to think at the moment. That dream...it hadn't been the normal nightmares. It had been a memory that he'd long forgotten and pushed out of his mind.

He groggily turned towards the kitchen, only to be tightly pulled into a sweet leather smelling person's embrace, which Leo quickly identified as Reyna. She always smelt like leather to Leo.

And she wouldn't let go. Leo was a little freaked out, because he was half wondering if her goal was to strangle him to death for renaming her dogs Swagagewea and Yolotopia (Which he noticed were loyally standing beside her) or if she suddenly had these human feelings that caused her to be happy when she returned home.

He would bet on the first option. Traitorous dogs.

"Oh my god, I thought that they'd maybe got you. I thought I was too late," Reyna said in a strangled voice, finally pulling away from him and fixing his hair. "I should've stayed here. It was so damn stupid of me to leave you here...no idea what might happen..."

Leo backed away from her, messing his hair back up as he did. Sure, Reyna looked pretty gorgeous right now with her casual clothes on, which Leo thought looked just as beautiful as some expensive dress, but she was out of her mind. "Um, are you okay? I like to be the craziest thing within a radius of fifty miles and you're screwing up my radar."

And then Reyna continued to freak Leo out, because she smiled. Reyna _smiled_. Had the world like, ended or something? Because Leo was sure that he was either dead or on a prank show.

"Oh, I love your lame comments! I thought I'd never hear them again! Do you know how worried I was the entire drive home? And you didn't answer the phone!" she said, immediately switching attitudes.

Leo liked her lecturing better than the nice, happy, thankful Reyna. He actually knew how to respond to the cold one. "You have a phone? If I knew that, I would've called you up months ago!"

And there it was: the infamous stare that Reyna usually gave him when he said things like that. As much as he liked her rare smiles, this was much more comforting.

"Leo, now is not the time for your antics. Can I get your hyperactive body to sit down for just a few minutes so we can talk?" she asked in her instructive voice that Leo had noticed she used only at work.

Leo paused, wondering if he should crack a joke about her tone of voice or not. Something about the look Swagagewea was giving him told him not to. "Okay. What about?"

Reyna gestured to the small square kitchen table, but then shook her head, tossing Leo the keys to her car. "I don't know if it's safe to talk here. We'll go to the park," Reyna said, pulling her hair back. "Not even safe in my own house," she muttered.

"Um, are you sure about this?" Leo hesitantly asked, holding up the keys that Reyna had tossed him. In truth, he was a little superstitious about driving Reyna somewhere again after what happened last time. If it was just him, fine. But he couldn't risk Reyna's life again.

Reyna nodded. "Absolutely. I trust you."

And there it was; those three words that almost made Leo forget how to breathe. She trusted him? She _trusted_ him? After he killed Piper, after he killed Jason, after he almost killed the both of them too, and Reyna still _trusted _him? And on top of that, Leo risked her life again when she saved him from the warehouse fire!

Leo eyed Reyna carefully. "Either you're not Reyna or you let some crazy therapist with a mustache brainwash you. Which one is it?"

"Do you not trust my decisions to trust you?" Reyna asked in a testing voice.

Leo swung the keys in the air and caught them, deciding it would not be best to argue with Reyna's scariness. "Leo the taxi driver at you service, beautiful lady!

* * *

**I hide behind a giant bolder as I tell you this: I will not be continuing this story, guys! As much as I hate to be that author, I just haven't been enjoying writing this story. It's become more of a chore, and that isn't fun for either me or you. Writing is my fun thing to do, and when it's not being fun I have no motivation. Sorry to the millionth power!**

**Maybe later if I feel the need I'll continue it, but I still don't know. Maybe I'll just put it up for adoption...**

**Anyways, I was a little hesitant about my Spanish skills in this chapter even though I got awards in the NSE both years I've tested in it. I'm a bit of a perfectionist when it comes to other languages. **

**Again, thank you for all your support up until this chapter and your understanding!**


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